The Stay
by MandyLeigh87
Summary: Do you ever have those dreams? The ones where the hot “Hollywood It Boy” miraculously shows up on your doorstep to use your bathroom. Or he accidentally bumps into you at a bar and offers to buy you a drink. What if it came true? E/B AH
1. Prologue

**A/N: Surprise! New Story! But I can explain myself. This is a little side project I've been working on for a while as a birthday present to a friend and she has graciously given me permission to publish it on here, so here it is. It is completed but no I will not be posting it all at once. You guys have to earn the chapters : ) FYI: This will not affect me writing In Love and War or the next story on my list (which right now looks like it'll be Domestic Disturbance by the poll) So I plan on posting a chapter for this story every Monday. I will post the foreward and the first chapter today, and the second starting on Monday. If you guys are super amazing at reviewing I may slip in some of the chapters early as a reward. Hope you enjoy the story. It's a little bit lighter less angsty than what I've done in the past.**

**Shout out to Amanda and Heather. You both know why : )**

**I do not own Twilight. All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.  
**

Do you ever have those dreams? The ones where the hot "Hollywood It Boy" miraculously shows up on your doorstep to use your bathroom. Or he accidentally bumps into you at a bar and offers to buy you a drink. You know that it's crazy. And that it'll never happen, especially to someone as plain and boring as you. But you sit and think up these crazy scenarios where you meet and fall madly in love and he whisks you away like fricking Prince Charming on his damn white horse. I mean actors date regular girls; the nobodies, the small town girls. But there's no way in hell you're _that_ girl.

So maybe your heart flutters a little every time you see his smile flash across the television screen, or you laugh like an idiot whenever he does an interview. Even if what he says isn't even slightly funny. You're positive he's the only genuine guy in the business, even if behind the scenes you know he's probably screwing the newest socialite who has an I.Q. less than your dog.

It happens to all of us. And we'll spend the rest of our lives knowing it's not true and never will be. But what if that one time, that one knock on the door, or that one bump at the bar turns out to be him? What if I told you that it was true and that you can be _that_ girl? What if I told you that it happened to me?


	2. The Illustrious Mr Cullen

"Bella!" Alice slammed her hand down on the counter in front of me. I jumped in my seat, startled by her gesture. "Are we awake today?"

"Yeah." I shook my head and put down the magazine I was reading. Alice grabbed for it and brought it towards her.

"I see." She smiled and picked up the magazine, waving the cover in front of my face. "You were too busy zoning out on Edward Cullen. So what's his latest scandal?" She started flipping through the pages. I sighed.

"Apparently him and red are having problems." I reached over and pointed her to the right page, staring in jealousy at the slender strawberry blonde attached to his arm.

"Are Hollywood's Golden Couple Headed for Splitsville?" Alice read aloud. "Hearts may be unbreaking all around the world as news of a split between superstar actor Edward Cullen and his model girlfriend Tanya Denali begins to gain some ground. Tanya was spotted out at nightclubs in West Hollywood this weekend, with her bronze haired boy nowhere to be found. In fact no one has seen Cullen since he stormed off set last week. His next confirmed appearance is at the Jazzy Awards in New York next month. Will the most desired model on the planet be on his arm? Only time will tell." She set down the magazine and turned towards me. "But isn't this like the fiftieth time they've supposedly split up?"

"Yeah." I crossed my arms in front of me. "Who knows? These Hollywood people are so fake, they probably just do it for show."

"I thought you were a fan of the illustrious Mr. Cullen?" Alice laughed and nudged me with her elbow.

"I am." I shrugged my shoulders. "I mean look at him." I gestured to the cover of the magazine. His bronze hair was perfectly messy and fell slightly into his bright green eyes. Any girl would be crazy not to want him. "And he seems like a nice guy but who knows. Fame can change people, make them immune to reality."

"So you're saying if he showed up at your door and he asked you out you'd actually say no?"

"No." I laughed.

The phone rang for the first time today. I straightened up and adjusted my nametag.

"Harbor Lights Bed and Breakfast, this is Bella how can I help you?"

I've been working at this place every summer since I was sixteen. My dad owned it and pretty much begged me to come back and help this year, even though it was my last summer of college. At least I got to have my best friend here with me.

I looked over at Alice; she was idly twirling her gum around her finger.

"Hello, do you guys have any rooms available for the end of August?" The voice on the line said.

"Unfortunately we're completely full." This was Northern Michigan buddy, we're booked up practically a year in advance. We were lucky to get that last minute cancellation yesterday. That one won't last long. It's our best room. "Let me refer you to some places who might have availability." The front door opened as I started flipping through my list of local hotels.

"Alice," I whispered, nodding to the person who had walked in the door. I couldn't see their face, but they were walking slowly around the room examining the many pictures and artifacts strewn about.

She sighed and finally looked up. "Can I help you?"

The man approached the desk as I finished listing off some hotels to the customer on the phone. I peeked up from under my eyelashes. He was wearing a dark wife beater shirt and dark sunglasses with a hint of a tattoo peeking out on his shoulder, but he was somehow familiar and I didn't know why. Regardless of why or if I knew him, he was definitely gorgeous.

"Hello…" He smiled slightly. "I need a room."

Alice tilted her head to the side, looking the man over. I heard her large intake of air, followed by her gagging. She was choking on her gum.

"I'm sorry sir I have to go my friend is choking…" I quickly hung up the phone and turned towards Alice. "Put your arms up in the air!" I pulled her arms up and started violently patting her back. She coughed a couple of times before her gum came shooting out of her mouth, landing squarely on the counter in front of the man.

"Alice are you okay?" I rubbed her back.

"Yeah." She whispered. She looked slowly up at the man again and sat down on her stool.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The man said, leaning over the counter.

"Yeah," Alice said, her voice squeaking. "I'm fine thank you." She held her hand up around her throat as she struggled to regain her composure. What the hell had gotten into her?

"I'm so sorry sir. You said you were interested in renting a room?" I turned back towards him. He was still watching Alice.

"Uh. Yeah. Do you have any?" He pulled out his wallet and started rifling through.

"You're in luck we just had one open up. How long would you like to stay?"

"Five weeks."

"Wow." That was longer than most. "Are you in town for work or something?"

He laughed quietly, as if he was enjoying a private joke. "No I'm not here for work."

"Oh. Okay." I pulled out a form and a pen. "Can I get your name and a credit card?"

"Uh. You can put down…Bobby Dupea for the name. And I'll pay in cash." He looked up at me. "If that's okay." He pulled out a wad of cash and set it on the counter.

"Um. Yeah that's fine." My eyes widened as I grabbed the cash and started counting it.

"There should be more than enough there for the entire stay."

I set it down and went to grab his key. Alice was still frozen in her seat, staring at the mysterious man at the counter.

"Alright you're on the top floor. Only room up there." I handed him the key. "Do you need help carrying bags or anything?"

"Nope. I just have this one" He lifted the backpack he was carrying slightly. "And if you don't mind I don't need my room cleaned or anything."

"For the whole five weeks?"

"Um. No. That's okay. I can wash the sheets and stuff. I'm a big boy." He started towards the stairs. "Thank you…Bella." He smiled as he stared at my nametag.

I shook my head several times after he'd turned his back. I couldn't shake that feeling. Almost déjà vu. Like I know him from somewhere but I know we've never met. It was frustrating.

"What was your deal?" I whispered, turning towards Alice. She was still staring at the stairs. Not that it wasn't nice to watch that part of him walk away, but she was acting strange. Even for her.

"Alice!" I snapped my fingers in front of her. She finally looked towards me, her mouth gaping. "Speak!"

"I swear to God…that looked just like…" She shook her head and looked down towards the magazine. She grabbed the magazine and flipped frantically through the pages. "Holy shit," she mumbled.

I looked down and saw the same black shirt, the same dark sunglasses, and the same man who had just walked up the stairs. I ran my finger along the caption. _"Megastar Edward Cullen out for a stroll down Sunset Boulevard."_

"No…" I whispered. "It…can't be." I shook my head at Alice. "That was not Edward Cullen!" I yelled softly, afraid that he'd still hear me. "Besides what the hell would he be doing here?" It was ridiculous.

Alice flipped her computer screen on and googled "Edward Cullen".

"Did you just google image him?"

"Yes." She gasped in delight as she pointed at the first image. He was running shirtless on the beach. "Do you believe me now?"

I leaned over and took a better look at the picture.

"Holy shit…" I whispered. The tattoo on his shoulder was clearly visible.

"Excuse me?" A slender tanned hand tapped down on the desk. "I wanted to ask for some advice." Edward Cullen was here. In my bed and breakfast. At my desk. Asking for my advice. I couldn't tell for sure, but I felt like I started to hyperventilate.

I quickly closed out of the picture on the screen. "Sure what can I help you with?"

"Well I've been traveling all day and I'm absolutely starving. What are some good take-out places around here?" He pulled his glasses off his face and set them onto of his head. No damn doubt about it. It was Edward Cullen in the flesh.

I put my hands on my hips and sighed in thought. "Well there's a little café around the block from here. Or a nice restaurant down the street. A lot of touristy places. Or there's a grocery store about 5 minutes from here. You're welcome to use the kitchen. Or…I could make you something." I giggled nervously. "I mean we are a bed and breakfast."

"No that's not necessary. Thank you though." He smiled and walked outside, replacing his glasses to his face.

When Alice and I finally starting breathing again we turned towards each other.

"Am I dreaming? Did that just really happen?" I said, shaking my head.

Alice reached over and pinched me hard and then pinched herself.

"Did it hurt?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Me too."

We both plopped down on our stools and rested our chins on the counter, staring out the door.

He walked back in a half hour later carrying a bag of groceries. He smiled towards us as he headed toward the kitchen. I could hear the opening and closing of cupboards and the clanging of pans.

"He really cooks?" I motioned towards the kitchen.

"I don't know. Why don't you go see?" She bumped me with her hip and winked.

"Why me?" I gulped. "I mean, don't you want to?"

"Bella. I choked on my gum without even talking to him. I doubt I could put together a coherent sentence or eat anything around him. He would literally kill me." She started putting away the things on the desk. "I'll close up. You go on."

I smiled slightly and hopped off my stool, walking over and flipping our sign to "closed" before sauntering into the kitchen.

He turned as I entered the room, then went back to whatever he was making. Well he knew I was there. Now what do I do? I contemplated just turning right back around and walking out of the room, no matter how crazy it looked. But instead I walked over to the refrigerator and took my time looking for something to drink.

"What are you making? It smells good." I smiled at him and reached above him to get a glass from the cupboard.

"Grilled cheese with bacon." He flipped the sandwich in the fry pan. "You want one?"

I was a little taken back by his question, I almost overflowed my cup. "Oh. Well. Sure I guess." I sat down at the bar and watched him cook. He turned off the stove after he finished our sandwiches and came to sit next to me, sliding my plate over.

"So when did you know?" He took a bite.

"Know what?"

"Who I really was?"

I looked at his face apologetically and took a bite of my sandwich. "After Alice googled you."

He started laughing. "Was it a good picture?"

I thought back to the gorgeous picture of his tanned body running down the sandy beach.

"Mmmm…" I froze mid bite. Did I just moan out loud?

He smiled a crooked smile my way and chuckled.

"No this is really good." I recovered, setting my sandwich down. "Yes it was a good picture."

"Good I'm glad you like it." He turned towards me and paused for a moment. "You've got some cheese on you." He lifted his hand up and ran it along my chin, just below my lower lip. "Got it." He smirked and went back to his sandwich.

"Uh…" I was freaking out. In a good way. Edward Cullen just touched my face. How is a normal person supposed to react to that? "So why are you here? I mean if you're not working."

"Well. I'm sure you heard of my little tantrum last week?"

I nodded.

"Do you ever just get sick of the life you lead? Like maybe it wasn't supposed to work out this way and that you just want to…run away from it all?" He stared up at me with his intensely beautiful green eyes.

"Yeah," I answered honestly.

"It was just like everything was happening around me and I just…felt like I wasn't there. Like it wasn't me. So I split." He got up and took our plates to the sink.

"Are you going back?"

"Yeah probably. I mean I have an awards show next month that I have to go to. But I thought I deserved a break." He smiled and nodded to himself. "And I kept hearing about how beautiful Northern Michigan was at this time of year. So I thought what the hell? I'll go."

"Well I'm glad you came here."

"Yeah me too." He shook his head and started doing the dishes.

"Oh here let me help you." I rushed over and grabbed a rag.

"It's just a few dishes..." He shrugged his shoulders.

"You made me dinner, the least I can do is help you with the dishes."

"Okay. Fine I'll wash and you dry. Deal?"

"Deal."

"So if I made you dinner does that mean we just technically had our first date?" He joked.

I laughed it off, knowing that if I opened my mouth I would embarrass myself.

After finishing the dishes he pulled himself up on the counter and patted the empty space next to him.

"Um. This is going to sound weird, but…why are you talking to me? I mean telling me all this stuff about you."

He laughed softly and turned his head towards me. "Bella don't take this the wrong way, but you're just…surprisingly normal. You're nice and you're beautiful and you're easy to talk to….and you're not…tainted by the business."

"Is that what happened between you and your girlfriend? She was too into the business?"

"Yeah and she won't leave me alone. We haven't been together for over a month now and she just keeps dragging it out. She'll show up where I am just to make it look like we're still together. It's exhausting. Thank God she doesn't know I'm here, or she'd be here in a minute with her tanorexic skin and skyscraper high heels."

"Oh I don't think she could survive up here in those." I joked.

"Well maybe I should stay here longer then." He lowered his head and his face was completely serious.

"Yeah you should." I unconsciously leaned my face closer to his.

He smiled and brought his face slowly forward until our noses were almost touching. I could feel his breathe on my face. He closed his eyes and started to move his face impossibly closer to mine. Our lips were just about to touch.

"Bella?" A tired voice said from the doorway.

I pulled back, absolutely mortified. "Hey Dad."

I turned towards him. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of him, eyes glancing between me and Edward.

"Who's this?" He motioned towards Edward.

I hopped off the counter and walked towards him. "This is…Bobby. He's going to be staying in the top room for a while. Bobby this is my dad, Charlie."

Edward jumped off the counter and walked over to Charlie, extending his hand. Charlie shook it, eyeing me suspiciously.

"I'm going to go to bed now." I started ducking towards the door. I needed to escape the awkwardness.

"Goodnight Bella," they both said in unison. Charlie looked annoyed. Edward was smiling at me.

"Goodnight," I said softly, turning quickly and running down the hallway towards my and Alice's room. I opened the door and slammed it quickly behind me. Alice sat up in her bed.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I…I think I just almost kissed him."

"Why almost?"

"Because my dad walked in." I lay down on my bed and started snuggling under the covers.

"But he was going to kiss you?" She said, lying back down.

"I think so."

I could practically hear her smiling in the dark. "You're welcome."

**A/N: I love me some reviews.... : )**


	3. The Hangover

**A/N: I know its really only Sunday night, but seeing as it's 12:05 by my clock its technically Monday. And I'm going to be a busy bee tomorrow so here's your next chapter : ) XOXO**

I woke into darkness at the sound of a soft knock on the door. Damn it. I was dreaming this whole time.

I wiped at my eyes sleepily and walked slowly to the door. Who the hell is knocking on my door at 2 a.m.? I glanced over at Alice's bed. She was sound asleep.

I opened the door slightly and squinted into the light from the hallway.

"Hey…" A male voice said.

"I squinted further, trying to make out his face. "Holy shit I wasn't dreaming…" I mumbled to myself.

"What?" Edward said.

"Oh. Sorry." I shook my head, trying to wake myself up. "Is everything okay with your room?"

"Yeah." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Listen I'm really sorry to wake you, but I can't sleep. I mean it's still…" He glanced down at his watch. "Only…11 in L.A. I'm not used to going to bed so early. I was wondering if you wanted to talk?"

I don't think I could ever deny this beautiful man anything. I was like putty in his hands.

"Um. Sure. But Alice is asleep." I gestured back towards a snoring Alice.

"It's okay we can go to my room."

"Okay. I'll meet you up there in a few minutes."

He smiled and started walking down the hallway. I closed the door quickly and considered waking Alice, but decided I wanted to avoid the teasing for tonight. I ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and sprayed some body spray on.

On the way upstairs I stopped by the kitchen and grabbed us a pack of beer. My legs shook as I started walking up the staircase. Stop acting so nervous. He's just like any other guy. I made sure to tiptoe past the second floor, since Charlie's room was on the end. He'd have a bitch fit if he knew I was sneaking up to a guest's room. Especially a male guest. And especially with beer.

I knocked quietly on Edward's door.

"Come in."

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Edward?" I whispered. The room looked empty to me, besides some clothes on the floor.

"Sorry." He walked out of the bathroom in some pajama shorts, rubbing a towel through his damp hair. "I took a quick shower while I was waiting for you."

"Oh." My eyes unconsciously scanned over his body. "Sweet Lord," I whispered as they passed over his perfectly sculpted abs.

"Did you say something?" He shook his head out.

"What?" I looked up from my daze. "Oh. No." I laughed it off nervously.

"What are those?" He smiled and nodded towards my hand.

"Beer?" I held them up and shrugged.

"My kind of girl." He held out his hand and I tossed him one. "Well have a seat." He looked towards the chair sitting next to his bed. I cracked open a beer and sat down. He settled onto the bed.

"So Bella Swan. Tell me about yourself." He took a sip of his beer.

I looked down at my hands. "I don't know I'm pretty boring. That might put you right to sleep." I laughed quietly.

"Try me."

I glanced up at him and his face was completely serious, like he was really interested in what I had to say. I can't imagine my Plain Jane life even comparing to his. I was boxed wine, he was Dom Pérignon.

"Well. I'm going to be a senior at Michigan State University this fall. I'm majoring in Psychology."

"And what do you want to do with that?"

"Uh…I'm not sure really." I smiled.

"But that's the appeal of it right? That you don't know. It means you can do anything." It was like he was reading my mind. I've been trying to explain that to my parents for the last three years and they still don't understand. "So what else do you do when you're not in class?"

"I go to the city's baseball games. And usually work part time." I rocked slowly back and forth. This was coming out just as boring as I thought it would.

"I can honestly say I've never been to a baseball game." He laughed.

"Really?" I said in shock.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll have to visit you and you can take me."

"Yeah. So enough about me tell me more about you."

"Wow I thought that every little fact of my life was published somewhere." He laughed.

"Okay." I smiled deep in thought, trying to come up with a random question. "If you could take three items and one person dead or alive to a deserted island what would you take?"

"Hmmm…" He gulped down the last of his beer and took another. "Good question." He paused and thought for a moment.

"A guitar, a good book, and a journal. And I'd take you." He smiled at me.

"Why me?"

"Because you don't treat me like I walk on water. It's refreshing. So what about you?"

I laughed because I already have answers to this question prepared. I thought it was one of the most telling questions you could ask a person. "I'd take a Polaroid camera, an everlasting IPod….and toilet paper."

"Touché." He brought his can up and toasted me. "And who would you take?"

I hid my face in my hands. "It's embarrassing."

"Who is it?" He teased. "Weird Al? Borat? Bozo the Clown?"

"It's you," I whispered.

"Bullshit," he laughed. "You're just saying that because I said you and you feel bad."

"I'm not bullshitting you," I laughed back.

"Okay fine why? Give me one legitimate reason you'd take me with you."

"Because you're different than what I thought." I took a sip of my beer.

"And what's different?"

"You're just…you. No bullshit diva or bitch behavior. You're just you. It's weird I feel like I've known you for years." I shook my head and smiled.

"Okay my turn." He smiled and scooted closer to the edge of the bed. "What's the most selfish thing you've ever wanted for yourself?"

I slumped down in my chair. I'd never thought about that before.

"I want someone to write a song about me. I don't care if it's good or bad. But I think that would be amazing."

He chuckled. "Good answer." He lowered his head slightly. "I promise to write you a song someday."

"Okay. So what's the most selfish thing _you_ want for yourself?"

He seemed hesitant as his face turned serious. "I wish that I could give it all back. The money…the fame….the fancy cars, the nice houses. None of it matters to me and all its done is bring me more than I can handle. I mean I love my job. I love it more than anything in the world. But sometimes I wonder if it's worth it."

"I think anything you love is worth it."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

We chatted for hours and hours about random things. What our favorite foods were, what our childhoods were like, whether or not we thought Tupac was in fact still alive.

The last time I looked at the clock it was 5 a.m. I had to be at work in three hours. Edward laid his head back on the headboard and starting humming softly. It lulled me right to sleep.

I jumped up at the sound of my phone. But I wasn't in the chair anymore. I was in his bed and had no idea how I got there. He was asleep in the chair, curled up in a ball with a blanket up to his chin and a beer still in his hand.

I looked down at my phone.

"Dad?"

"Bella where the hell are you? It's 8:30. You aren't in your room and you aren't at work."

Crap. I forgot to set an alarm. "Uh. I went for a run?"

"You went for a run? That's the most ridiculous excuse I've ever heard in my life Bella. You don't run." He sighed. "You know what? As long as you're okay then I don't care. Just get to work. Now."

I closed my phone and jumped up from the bed. Bad decision. The world started spinning around me. I wasn't expecting a hangover. It's not like I drank that much. I glanced at myself in the mirror and grimaced. Good thing he wasn't awake, I might scare him away. My hair was sticking out in all different directions and I looked just like I felt. Maybe I could sneak out without him noticing.

I grabbed my stuff from the floor and opened the door slightly. It creaked. I winced and looked back at him.

He was staring right at me smiling.

"Where are you headed off to?" He stretched his arms above him.

"I'm late for work. And I'm really hungover. Sorry I have to go." I started out the door.

He jumped from his seat and grabbed my arm. "Wait you forgot something?" I looked down and saw my key, phone, and hoodie sweatshirt. I hadn't forgot anything. He pulled me back into the room and pressed me against the back of his door before pressing his lips softly to mine. His one hand cradled the side of my face; the other ran down my side and rested lightly on my hip. My knees started to shake and they finally buckled under the pressure. He held me up, laughing against my lips.

"Have a good day at work." He smiled and released me.

"Thanks you too." I paused for a moment. "Well. You know what I mean." I made a quick exit and hurried down the stairs.

"One minute…" I held up one finger to Alice as I passed by the desk. She was tapping a pen on the counter and smirking at me.

I ran into my room and pulled my hair back into a pony and put some fresh clothes on. After brushing my teeth, I rushed back down to the desk.

"Where were you last night you little hussie?" Alice smiled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I smoothed my hair back.

"So that's how you're playing it?" She teased. "I see." She reached into her purse and handed me some Advil. "Here takes these. It'll help with your headache."

"Am I really that obvious?" I said, panicked.

"No. But I'm your best friend. I know when you're hungover. And exhausted."

I took the pills and swallowed them quickly. Hopefully we wouldn't be too busy today. I didn't know if I could handle it. I laid my head down on the counter and closed my eyes briefly, just until the spinning went away.

They shot open when Alice cleared her throat. She smiled and nodded towards the staircase. Edward was walking down, scratching his head and smirking right at me. I tried to look down but I couldn't. I glanced at him from under my eyelashes and smiled. I couldn't lie. I was completely crushing on him, even more than before. He laughed to himself and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Well aren't you just a smitten kitten?" Alice teased, putting her hands on her hips.

"What?" I turned towards her and tried to hide the smile on my face.

"Don't try and hide it. You can't stop smiling and I think Mr. Hollywood is the reason why."

"Stop it Alice."

I turned my head towards the kitchen as some amazing smells started filtering out from it. Eggs. Bacon. Delicious and nauseating at the same time. My stomach hurt just thinking about it.

I smiled and put my head back down on the counter top, closing my eyes for a few more minutes.

"Is she surviving?" Edward laughed. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He was carrying a plate of food in his hand.

"Barely," Alice said.

"Here…" He laid the plate down in front of me and I groaned. "That bad huh?"

I nodded my head slowly.

"Well you'll feel better if you get something in your stomach. I promise."

I shook my head. He picked up a fork and stuck some eggs on it. "Come on…" He made airplane noises and tried to feed me like I was a baby. "Come on little Bella…" he teased.

Alice laughed and I couldn't help but smile. I opened my mouth wide and he placed the food in.

"This is so good," I said once I'd swallowed the first bite. I took the fork from his hands and pulled the plate towards me, ready to devour it.

"Thanks." He turned and went back into the kitchen.

"Let me have a bite," Alice whispered.

"No it's mine." I pulled the plate away from her.

"Please just a little one."

"Fine. A little one." I pushed the plate her way and she took a bite that was way beyond little.

"Oh my Emeril! He's hot and he can cook. You hit the jackpot Bella."

"I didn't hit anything." I pulled the plate back towards me.

"No?" Alice teased. "You will soon."

"Alice!" I scolded trying to hold in my laughter. "You are so bad."

"Good. Maybe I'll rub off on you."

I finished up my plate and eyed the kitchen. He still hadn't come out yet.

"I'm going to go…put this away…" I held up my plate and walked towards the kitchen.

There he was. My Hollywood Golden boy. He was just finishing up the dishes.

"That was…amazing." I set my plate down next to the sink.

"Good."

Without warning he spun and picked me up, setting me on the edge of the counter. "Well after this morning I decided one would never be enough." He tilted my head up and pressed his lips to mine for the second time. I tried to keep my emotions in check as his arms snaked around my waist and pulled me closer. My arms went up and grabbed a fistful of his hair, holding his face to mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist and brought my hips closer to him. His lips left mine and traveled down to my neck. I laughed a little at the sensation.

"You're laughing?" He whispered.

"I can't help it when you do that."

I felt him smile against my skin and his hands flew instantly down to the countertop as he pushed me down. That sure shut me up. He bent over me and started kissing down the middle of my chest.

"Edward. We're in a…public place. Stop it!" I teased.

"I know. Someone could just…walk in. At any minute."

Something about that excited me. I grabbed for his face and pulled it up to mine. His hands wandered down by the hem of my shirt and slid just slightly underneath. He ran his fingers softly in circles over my ribs.

"Whoops!" Alice laughed, walking into the kitchen. "Sorry for interrupting." She winked and turned around.

"Bullshit Alice!" I yelled back. "You were spying." I pushed Edward back and hopped off the counter. "I have to get back to work." I pecked him on the lips and turned to leave.

"Bella?"

"Yeah."

"See you later?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah."

Alice was grinning from ear to ear when I returned to the desk. Edward left for his room a few minutes later.

"So…?" Alice pressed.

"So you can add amazing kisser to the list." I laughed.

"Looked like it. When are you seeing him again?"

"Tonight."

"Lucky girl. So are you in love yet?"

"No." I blushed and the butterflies started in my stomach. "But I'm definitely in like. In a lot of like."

"Good."

After work I showered and headed upstairs. I knocked but there was no answer so I opened the door slightly. He was pacing in the middle of the room with his phone to his ear. "Emmett do not tell him where I am okay?...Or her. Especially her….Okay. Bye." He motioned me inside.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah everything's fine. Just my stupid brother. He knows where I am."

"Uh oh. Is he going to tell anyone?"

"No I swore him to secrecy, but it still worries me. You give that man a burger and he'll tell you anything you want to know."

I laughed. "I know some people like that. So what does he do?"

"He's kind of my bodyguard. Which is why I told him where I was. He gets a little anxious when he doesn't know. Being my big brother adds to it."

"Yeah I can imagine. So you only have the one brother right?"

"Yeah. I mean my agent Jasper is like a brother to us. We grew up next door to him and his sister Rosalie. She's a model. She's actually dating Emmett."

"Wait your brother is dating Rosalie Hale?"

"Yep."

"Wow. She's…beautiful."

"Yeah she can be a downright bitch too." He took a step towards me and smiled. "I think I'm over talking for the moment." He bent down and kissed me gently.

I spent every night that week in Edward's room, talking until we fell asleep and waking up groggy and just in time for work. Edward had moved from his spot in the chair to sleeping in bed with me. It was comfortable, normal. I always hated leaving it.

Sunday was going to be a good day though. I didn't have to work. Which meant I could stay in bed with Edward as long as I damn well pleased. I don't think I've ever slept so peacefully in my entire life.

"Dang Edward. She's hot." I furrowed my brow and willed my eyes to open. I was so perfectly content I didn't want to wake up. But I had to see who this voice belonged to and how they knew about Edward.

"I can't believe you're here right now. I told you guys I needed some time alone." Edward sounded a little angry.

"Doesn't look like you're alone." The other man chuckled.

"Shut up!" I heard a smack.

"Don't mess with me little bro. You know I can kick your ass."

Little bro? Was Emmett here? I shot up out of bed and looked around. Edward stared apologetically at me. A large burly man next to him crossed his arms and grinned at me.

"Good morning beautiful." He winked at me.

"Shut it," Edward said.

"I'm Emmett." The man extended his hand.

"Bella." I smiled and took it, then went to stand next to Edward.

"Hey are you okay?" I whispered into his ear.

"Not really. But I'm better now." He smiled slightly and kissed my cheek."Could you give us a minute?"

"Yeah of course. I'll go freshen up." I headed towards his bathroom to splash some water on my face. I could still hear them talking in the other room. I felt bad for eavesdropping, but it was kind of unavoidable.

"So what's with the girl?" Emmett said.

I leaned close to the door and pressed my ear next to it.

"We've been hanging out. I like her."

"Just hanging out?" Emmett teased.

"Well we haven't slept together if that's what you're asking."

"Does little Eddie have a crush?"

"Shut up dick." I think Edward hit him again.

"You totally have a crush dude."

I walked out of the bathroom after a few moments of silence, not wanting to interrupt them or let them know I was listening.

"So how long are you staying?" I took Edward's hand.

"I don't know you'll have to ask Jasper…" He motioned towards the door.

I felt Edward's hand tense up in mine. "You brought Jasper?" He said through clenched teeth.

"Dude. He gave me a burger."

I tried to stifle a laugh.

"Where is he?"

"Down in the lobby with Rosalie trying to arrange a flight back already."

"Shit…" Edward mumbled and pulled me out the door. We walked down the stairs and I headed towards the desk to talk to Alice. There was a tall, slender, blonde man pacing back and forth and talking animatedly with his hands. A gorgeous blonde woman stood with her arms crossed by the door.

"Who's that?" Alice said as I approached.

"You don't know who Rosalie Hale is? What planet do you live on?"

"No not her. I mean the guy. Mr. Cell Phone." She nodded towards the man as Edward approached him.

"I think his name is Jasper. He's Edward's agent."

"He's cute." I knew that look. When Alice thought a guy was cute, she was instantly hooked, no questions asked. She had that look now, but it was different than any she'd had before. Almost something more.

I leaned forward to listen to Edward and Jasper's conversation.

"Edward you have to go back today. You have…obligations."

"Jazz I'm not going back. I'm not ready yet. I've only been here a week."

Jasper put his fingers on the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply. "Edward the studio execs are so far up my ass that I can't even walk right."

"Not my problem." Edward shrugged his shoulders. I could tell this was going to get nasty quick, but I had an idea.

"Edward!" I skipped over and smiled at him. "You didn't introduce me to your friend."

"Um." He looked slightly annoyed. "Sorry. Bella this is Jasper, my agent. Jasper this is Bella. Her dad owns the place."

Jasper nodded my way. "Nice to meet you." I detected a slight Southern accent to his voice. Alice would definitely love that.

"Can I borrow him for a minute?" I asked Jasper, pulling on Edward's arm.

"Go ahead. I'm on hold with the airline."

I pulled Edward away into the kitchen.

"He wants you to leave doesn't he?"

"Yeah. Apparently I'm grounded." He laughed and shook his head.

"Well if you want to stay…" I ran my finger down his chest. "I might have an idea."

"Enlighten me Miss Swan."

There was no need to beat around the bush. "Alice likes him."

A smile spread across his face. "I see."

"Do you think?" I prodded.

"I do." He said confidently.

We walked back out into the room.

"Okay Jazz I'll go if I really have to." He turned towards Alice. "Oh have you met Bella's friend Alice?" He motioned to her.

Jasper looked up from the floor and froze as soon as he locked eyes with Alice.

"No I haven't." He hung up his phone immediately.

"Jasper." He smiled at her and approached the counter.

"I'm Alice." She bent over the counter and gave him a kiss on the cheek. You could always count on Alice to be forward. Jasper was eating it up. I think the dimples on his face were becoming permanent fixtures.

"Are you guys really leaving today? We were going to have a barbeque at the beach tomorrow?" She turned playfully side-to-side with her hands in her pockets.

Edward and I glanced nervously at Jasper. He took his sunglasses off his face and set them down on the counter.

"Well I guess we could stay a couple of nights."


	4. Complicated

"Ouch you stepped on my toe asshole!" Edward pushed Emmett away. He was trying to walk with scuba goggles and flippers on and it wasn't working so well.

"Crew oo" Emmett tried to yell.

"What was that?"

Emmett took out his mouthpiece. "I said screw you."

"Emmett you do know that this is a lake, not the ocean?" I started packing things in my beach bag.

"Yeah so?"

"Well it's not like there's tropical fish…or coral or anything. And plus the lake is probably really cold anyway."

"Oh." He threw down his gear, looking a little disappointed.

"Alright everyone I'm ready to go!" Jasper announced. He walked into the room with a thick line of white sunscreen down the middle of his nose.

"How cute is he?" Alice leaned in and whispered to me.

"Adorable," I joked. "Okay let's go." I picked up my bag and started towards the door.

The beach was pretty crowded. It was an absolutely perfect day. The lake was calm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

I picked a spot for us and laid down my towel.

"This is great." Edward laid his towel down next to mine.

"Yeah, it's beautiful isn't it?" I took out my sunscreen and started rubbing it over my stomach and chest. I attempted to get my back, but wasn't having much luck considering I didn't have a Go-Go Gadget arm.

"Let me help you." Edward slid behind me and squeezed some lotion onto his hands. I shivered a little as he started rubbing it up and down my back. He took his time, making sure to cover every inch, lingering momentarily on the dimples on my lower back.

"Those are so damn cute…" He whispered into my ear. "And incredibly sexy."

I smiled and turned around, kissing him quickly.

"Ew." Emmett complained.

"Oh that's nothing compared to what I walked in on yesterday Emmett," Alice teased.

"Alright Edward!" Emmett reached up for a high five.

Rosalie glared at him.

"Babe…" He smiled and bent over, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

I lie back down on my towel and let the sun wash over me.

"Bella…" Edward said softly. He rolled over so he was right next to me. "Go for a walk with me." He stood up and held his hand out.

I smiled and let him pull me up. Alice and Jasper were playing some kind of card game. They looked cute together.

"You think he likes her?" I leaned in towards Edward and discreetly pointed to them.

"Do I think he likes her? Number one, I didn't think there was any way in hell he was going to let me stay here an instant longer…until he saw her. And Jasper does not do beaches. And we live in California. He likes her, trust me."

"Okay good." We started down the beach.

We were silent for most of the way down, weaving in and out of the water, the waves crashing against our feet. Edward looked down at the ground most of the time, kicking at the sand with his hands in his pockets.

"Bella we need to talk…"

"Okay?" I stopped and turned towards him.

He sat on a large rock and ran his fingers through his hair.

"We need to talk about us. I mean I know it's just…I guess I don't know what it is yet. But you need to understand something. I'm not staying here forever. I mean I like you, a lot more than I should already, but I just don't want this to get complicated." He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he laughed. "I guess I don't know how to deal with this shit."

I smiled slightly and walked over to him. "Edward it doesn't have to be complicated. I understand that you have obligations and you have to leave in a few weeks." I ran my fingers through his hair and let them finally rest behind his neck. My legs straddled his and I lowered myself onto his lap. "Just be with me while you're here and let's just enjoy it. We'll figure out the rest later."

He tilted his eyes up towards mine and managed a small smile.

"None of that," I scolded. "Bigger smile than that. Cheese it up."

He grinned wider than anyone should and tilted his head to the side like a kid hamming it up for the camera.

"Much better. But tone down the creeper factor a little." I reached for his face and pushed his smile back a little until it was him. Edward. And he was happy. My fingers ran along his bottom lip as he gripped my hips and pulled me closer.

"You keep doing cute shit like that and I don't if I'll be able to leave." He pressed his forehead to mine.

"That's the idea." I smiled and kissed him, wrapping my legs tighter around him.

I felt him smile against my lips as he lifted us both up off the rock.

"So did you say the lake was cold?" His eyes gestured towards the water.

"Yeah. It's probably freezing." I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to figure out what he was doing.

"Like really….really freezing?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes Edward. Really….really freezing."

He smiled and started running towards the water, me in tow around his waist.

When I realized what he was doing, I started trying frantically to untangle myself from him but it was too late. He splashed us into the frigid water and dropped to his knees.

"Hey you're right. It's really…really freezing." He pulled me closer and started laughing.

I glared at him. "I told you it was you stubborn asshole."

He smiled and placed a kiss on my cheek.

Even though he was freezing and sopping wet, I haven't seen Edward look this happy in a long time. He wasn't Edward Cullen, megastar actor who looked like he was exhausted and miserable everywhere he went. He was just Edward. Normal, amazing Edward.

"That was kind of a dumb thing to do wasn't it?" He shivered a little.

"Yeah it was. I guess we'll just have to warm up somehow," I said sarcastically.

He smirked and leaned in to nibble on my neck. I giggled at his touch and ran my fingers over his back.

We walked out of the water and rung out what we could of our clothes before making our way back to the group, hand in hand. The sun was starting to go down over the water, creating a beautiful pinkish orange glow to everything.

A slight movement behind the lifeguard station caught my eye. I squinted into the shadows to see what it was and started laughing hysterically.

"Edward look!" I pointed towards the station.

Alice had Jasper pinned against the back wall and was pretty much attacking his face with her lips. It looked like he was enjoying it as far as I could tell.

Edward laughed and put his arm around my shoulders. We both knew what that meant. Jasper would let him stay longer.

"Where'd you two run off to?" Rosalie said as she started packing up her stuff.

"We were just talking." I shrugged my shoulders and helped her shake off the towels.

"Must have been some talk. Your clothes are all wet."

"It was a good one." I smiled at Edward.

We left Alice and Jasper to their business and started back towards the Inn. Charlie was sitting at the front desk, looking as grumpy as ever. He hated being up front; Alice and I practically had to beg him to let us have today off.

He eyed Edward and me suspiciously in our wet clothes. He was probably wondering why everyone else was dry.

"I'll be up in a few minutes," I whispered to Edward as I started towards my room. I had no idea how I was going to sneak past Charlie, but I guess I'd have to come up with something.

I took off my wet clothes and hung them over the edge of the tub in the bathroom before slipping on some sweatpants and a tank top. I quickly ran a comb through my hair and brushed my teeth.

Charlie was still at the front desk so I casually walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water.

"Bells?" Charlie called.

"Yeah Dad?" I took a sip from my glass, pondering over my stealth escape plan that I'd yet to come up with.

"Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah I did." I smiled, reliving the moments from the day.

"That's good. Uh…"

I rolled my eyes. I could practically see him scratching at his head wondering what he was going to say.

"You and that kid…what's his name? Bobby?"

My fist tightened around my glass. I did not want my dad to know about Edward and me. It was one thing that he was a customer, but the whole Hollywood thing would freak him out beyond belief. And although he would never admit it, he knows all about Edward Cullen. You can't watch the news without some tidbit about his life. I'm just surprised Charlie hasn't recognized him. I guess it's good that he's so oblivious.

"Yeah what about it?"

"You're just friends right?"

"Yeah Dad we're just friends."

I heard the door open then and Alice's voice filled the room.

"Hey Charlie!"

I peeked my head outside. Alice had pulled herself up on the counter. Jasper was standing in between her legs, grasping onto her knees. She briefly looked my way.

"Help," I whispered, nodding to the stairway.

She winked and turned her whole body towards me.

"Oh hey Bella. I thought you'd be in bed already. You kept saying how utterly exhausted you were." She stared right at me and nodded.

"Oh. Right. Exhausted." I set my glass down. "Yeah I'm going to go right to bed and go to sleep. Goodnight everyone!" I started slowly down the hallway. I stopped and turned back.

"Charlie…" Alice slapped his shoulder. "Did I ever tell you that my great uncle went to clown school?"

I had to hold in my laughter as I crept around the wall and up the stairway.

"Uh…no Alice you never told me about that." He outwardly groaned because he knew what was coming.

"He graduated top of his class sir," she said seriously. "Even had his own show and everything. You've probably heard of him." She crossed her arms and nodded her head.

"Oh really. What's his name?"

"Umm…Bozo."

"Bozo is your great uncle?"

"He is."

Their voices faded into nothing as I continued climbing the stairs. Edward's door was cracked open a sliver. As I approached I could see him moving around inside. He stood over the dresser examining himself in the mirror. I gasped when I saw he was only wearing his boxers. I watched him run his fingers through his wet hair, his back muscles perking with each movement. I inched closer to the door and rested my cheek on the doorframe. He sighed heavily, his shoulders rising and falling with each breath. I bit my lip unconsciously. How was it that someone this beautiful could possibly want to be with me? It was unreal. Almost like a dream. I closed my eyes started praying that I wouldn't wake up alone and in my own room tomorrow morning, realizing it wasn't real.

When I opened my eyes again he wasn't at the mirror. In fact I couldn't see him at all. Suddenly he stepped directly in front of the door and smiled.

"Spying are we?"

I gulped hard. "Yes," I whispered.

He opened the door further and pulled me inside. He smirked and stalked towards me, forcing me back until the back of my knees hit the bed.

The soft light in the room accentuated his abs in all the right places, creating peaks and shadows all along his stomach. I reached my finger out and traced lightly along the lines.

"You are so beautiful…" I whispered.

"You obviously don't see yourself clearly…" He brushed his hand across my cheek. "You're much more than beautiful Bella."

He brought his knees up onto the bed and pushed me down gently onto the bed, hovering above me. He started placing kisses down my jaw and down my shoulder as he pushed my tank top strap aside.

I kissed his neck tenderly and let my lips linger on his skin.

He placed his elbows on either side of my head and started reaching in the nightstand beside his bed.

"I want more…" He dug around some more in the drawer and I panicked. I wasn't quite ready for this. I mean my body definitely was, there was no doubt about that, but I wasn't.

"Edward I don't think…"

He sat up and pulled a bag of M & M's. "Candy." He smirked and put a few in his mouth. "I love these things. Jasper always makes sure there's a bag in my trailer on set."

"Oh." My face flushed red with embarrassment.

"What?" He reached into the bag and grabbed another handful.

"Nothing. I just thought…nevermind." I hid my face in my hands.

"You thought I was going to try and sleep with you?" He said in a serious tone.

I looked up at met his gaze. He almost looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry Edward." I shook my head. I didn't mean to make him feel like that.

"It's okay." He set the bag of candy down. "You know I'm sure a lot of people think I'm some kind of manwhore or whatever you call it. But I'm not Bella. It's all a bunch of bullshit." He laid his head back on the wall. "And even if I was what they say I am, I wouldn't ever force that on you. You're so much more important that anyone else has ever been and I respect you."

Telling me he didn't want to sleep with me was probably the sexiest thing he's ever said. I practically jumped the distance between us and kissed him.

"You're such a gentleman…" I teased.

"I'm no gentleman, I can assure you of that. I'm still a guy Bella. Every time you touch me its like fire against my skin, but in a good way. You affect me too much for my own good."

"Does this affect you?" I grazed my lips along his ear and gently dragged my teeth down his neck. He growled in response.

"How about this?" I kissed down the middle of his chest. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

I crawled over him and straddled his waist, leaning my face close to his. He opened his eyes and stared intently into mine. "And this?" I cocked my head to the side and pressed my lips to his. He rocked his hips slightly and rolled me onto my back, his hands lingering at the hem of my shirt. They slipped inside and ran softly up and down my sides, resting momentarily at my hips. I broke my lips away from his and smiled, reaching for the bag of candy. I reached inside and grabbed one, placing it in his mouth. His lips closed down around my finger as I pulled it out. He grabbed one for me and dropped it in my mouth.

"Can I ask you something?" Edward finally said.

"Of course."

"Will you go out with me tomorrow night?"

"I'd love too. Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet, but I want to take you out. On a real date." He nodded as I placed my head on his chest.

"Okay. It's a real date then." I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, already dreaming about what tomorrow would bring.

**A/N:** **Oooo...Bella's got a real date with a movie star. Where do you think he'll take her? Is everything going to run according to plan? Is Edward as smooth of an operator as he seems to be? Questions, questions, questions. And I have answers, answers, answers....if you leave me a lot of good reviews : )**


	5. First Real Date

**A/N: Ahh! So who's excited for the big date? *Raises and waves hands***

I woke the next morning feeling amazing. Nothing could beat spending the night sleeping on Edward's chest.

I reached across the bed, feeling for his body, but he wasn't there. I sat up and looked around. He wasn't here. I noticed something on the nightstand so I scooted over to get a closer look.

I smiled as I grabbed the note and the single white rose.

_I can't wait to see you tonight…_

I hopped out of bed and made my way downstairs; careful to make sure Charlie wasn't at the desk. Alice was there, cheerful as ever.

"How was your night?" She asked.

"Amazing." I ran my fingers through my hair, something I had picked up from Edward.

"I bet it wasn't as amazing as mine. Good thing you weren't in our room."

"Gross Alice."

She held up four fingers. "Four times…" she mouthed.

"Geez I'm never going to be able to sleep in my room again. I'll have Alice and Jasper sex nightmares."

"Oh trust me sweetie, it was no nightmare."

"Really? Jasper?" He seemed so uptight and serious to me.

"Oh yeah." She nodded her head and smiled.

Jasper, speak of the devil, peeked his head out from the kitchen. "Milk or orange juice Al?"

"Orange juice please. Thanks sweetie."

Shit it was like they went from just meeting to married with kids overnight. It was too Leave it Beaver to me. Nauseatingly cute and perfect. I gagged purposely and started towards my room, praying I didn't find a Kama sutra book or a used condom on the floor.

The room was surprisingly perfect. I couldn't believe it. I sighed when I saw another note and another rose sitting on my bed, next to a tray full of hot food. Bacon, French toast, scrambled eggs. It was amazing. I shook my head in amazement and picked up the note.

_I'll pick you up at 7. Wear whatever you like, you'll look amazing._

Panic started to rip through my body. It was a date. A real date. And it hadn't quite sunken in yet. I was going on a date with Edward Cullen.

"Alice!" I yelled. "I need you…now!"

She ran into the room, completely out of breath.

"What?" She said.

"I have nothing to wear, I need you to take me shopping!"

An ecstatic smirk spread across her face. "I thought you'd never come around!" She squealed.

"No Alice. This is not me turning into a shopping freak. I just…I want to look good tonight for my date with Edward. All I have are jeans and t-shirts." I motioned towards my closet.

"Okay let's go!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door.

By the time 6:30 rolled around, Alice had me sitting in our bathroom with hot rollers in my hair and an incredibly uncomfortable bra.

"Alice I don't know about this." I tugged at the underwire.

"Bella, you can have the crummiest dress on the planet and still look good if you have the right things underneath." She slapped my hand away. "Leave them alone!"

She looked over my face again and touched up some of my makeup. I told her not to go overboard and she refused to let me see if before she was done. I was terrified I was going to come out looking like a pageant contestant with country singer hair.

"One more spray…" Alice said, hinting for me to close my eyes and my mouth. She sprayed my hair generously and then started taking out the curlers. I watched as a section bounced down and back up a little, settling into a soft curl on my shoulder. She grabbed the thin black headband from the counter and placed it perfectly on my head, allowing for a few tendrils to frame my face.

"Okay let's get your dress on and then you'll be ready." She took the dress off the hanger and unzipped the side. I took it from her and slid it up my body.

"Oh my gosh Bella you look so beautiful. Edward's going to flip." She smiled as she appraised her work.

"Are you sure? I mean it doesn't look too overdone?" I ran my fingers over the pink and white floral pattern of my dress.

"No. You're perfect." She grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. I gasped when I saw my reflection in the mirror. It was definitely me, but it was just…wow. I ran my fingers delicately through my hair and smiled, tears almost forming in my eyes.

"Bella no crying. You'll ruin your makeup." She grabbed a tissue and started dabbing at the corner of my eyes. "Now a quick spray of perfume and you're off." I pushed away the fancy perfume she was about to spray on me.

"No perfume Alice." I reached for my strawberry scented cheap body spray and layered it over my body.

"You and your damn strawberries," she muttered under her breath as she placed her perfume on her neck and at her wrists.

"Al?" Jasper called from the other room. "Is Bella with you?"

"Yeah. We'll be right out." She walked out into the room.

"Wow you look great Bella." Jasper said, wrapping an arm around Alice's waist. "Edward's waiting for you out front."

"Okay. Thanks." I grabbed my purse and took a deep breath before starting down the hallway.

He had his back turned to me, leaning up against the table with his arm propped up on the countertop. I stood and watched for a moment as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair and sighed a few times.

I cleared my throat to signal my presence. He smirked as he turned around slowly to face me. His face turned serious as his eyes locked on mine. I giggled like a damn teenager and did a spin for him.

"What do you think?"

He never broke his eyes from mine as he walked over to me.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life." He bent down and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"You don't look so bad either." I ran my finger along the blue button down shirt he was wearing. I stopped as I reached the top of his black pants and smiled. I looped a finger in his belt loop and pulled him in again for another kiss.

"You know I'd be perfectly content kissing you all night, but we're going to be late for dinner." He stepped away from me and gestured to the door. "Your chariot awaits."

I smiled in the confusion and stepped outside. There was a horse drawn carriage waiting for us outside.

"Holy shit…" I whispered to myself. The carriage driver laughed. "Sorry," I said.

"It's okay I get that a lot."

I gasped as Edward's hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me up slightly into the carriage. He hopped up behind me and pulled us down into the seat.

"You know the way Jimmy…" He put on his sunglasses and slung his arm around my shoulder.

"Yes sir," Jimmy laughed.

"How much did this cost?" I whispered, leaning into Edward. "It's got to be expensive Edward."

"It doesn't matter." He smiled and pulled me tighter.

"It does." I grabbed his chin and pulled his face towards me. "You don't have to do spend money on me, okay?"

"I know I don't have to love, but I like to."

I was a little stunned at his words. He'd never called me anything like that before and it made my heart twitch, in a really good way. I mean we'd only met a few days ago, so I knew we weren't close to the "l" word yet, but that meant something.

I sighed and rested my head on Edward's shoulder as we rode through town, granting the stares of everyone walking along the streets.

We pulled up to a restaurant in town that I knew very well. There was a balcony over the back that looked out over the marina. White lights littered the top of the porch, creating a soft glow around it.

Edward helped me from the carriage and led me into the restaurant with his hand on the small of my back.

"Hello welcome!" The host said. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes it's under Dupea," Edward said.

The host checked his list and a looked of surprise spread across his face. "Oh of course! We have something all set up for you out on the balcony." He gestured towards the back. He led us through the restaurant and to the balcony. Edward pulled my chair out for me before sitting down in his.

"This is so gorgeous…" I looked around at the lights and the boats down on the water.

"It is isn't it?" I shivered as he ran his finger gently along my jaw.

"Hey folks…" The waiter said, interrupting my incredibly romantic moment. "My name is James and I'll be your server tonight."

I winced and looked up at the waiter. Did he say James? He couldn't still work here. Could he?

"Can I get you guys something to….Bella?" He clapped his hands together.

I diverted my eyes down, hoping he'd go away if I just ignored him.

"Bella I know it's you, stop trying to ignore me."

I finally looked up at him and glared. James. My ex-boyfriend. How is it possible that I have this much shitty luck? My old boyfriend is the waiter for the date that my maybe future boyfriend set up. Priceless.

Edward watched our exchange intently.

"And you are?" He asked.

"James. I'm Bella's ex-boyfriend, I guess." He held out his hand to shake Edward's. "I haven't seen you around here. Are you new in town?"

"I guess you could say that." Edward grabbed his hand and released it just as quickly. He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair.

"So what would you guys like to drink?" James said. We hadn't broken up on the worst of terms, but I still didn't want to see him. Especially now. He could be a manipulative bastard when he wanted something. And I knew he still wanted me.

"Can we get a bottle of your most expensive wine?" Edward said sternly. "Are you ready to order sweetheart?" He turned towards me. I was stunned into silence.

"Um…yeah. I'll have the spaghetti." I handed James my menu that I hardly had enough time to look through.

"And I'll have the steak," Edward said. "Most expensive one you have." He shook his head and handed James his menu. He put his hand in mine and made an effort to rest them on the table, in full view of everyone around us.

This wasn't him. Edward didn't care about his money or flaunting it around to people. Why was he acting like this now?

I glanced back at James as he left to put our order in. Edward was looking at him too, with an intense fire in his eyes. It all clicked then. He was jealous.

"Edward," I whispered.

"Yeah." He turned towards me, his eyes flitting all over the place. He was nervous as shit. I couldn't understand how he can handle thousands of fans screaming for him, but he's insecure about being in the same restaurant as my ex. It was unbelievable.

"He means nothing to me now. I'm starting to wonder if he ever really did."

"Yeah. No, it's fine. Whatever." He brushed it off like it was nothing.

"Edward." I smiled towards him. He looked back at me. I brought our hands down from the table and rested them in my lap. "Relax. You don't need to buy out the whole restaurant just to prove some kind of manly claim."

He let out a whoosh of air and relaxed a little bit.

"I'm sorry. I guess I just get a little insecure." He shrugged his shoulders.

I saw something there in his eyes. Even with all the fame and fortune, he truly had no idea how amazing he was. And it broke my heart. I ran my fingers through his hair and wondered how in the world this man could ever feel insecure.

"I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back." I kissed his temple and got up, making my way back inside.

James grabbed my arm as soon as I stepped in and pulled me into the hallway that led to the kitchen.

"So who's the guy?" He placed his arm on one side of my head, blocking my way out. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Maybe." I said, my voice shaking.

"I looked up your reservation Bella. Under some name…Bobby Dupea." He looked me dead in the eye. "Bullshit." He started scratching his head. "You know I knew he looked familiar the minute I saw him. And then it just clicked like that." He snapped his fingers. "That's Edward Cullen."

I crossed my arms. "No its not." I glanced back at Edward. He was playing idly with the flowers in the centerpiece of the table.

"Bull. Shit." James crossed his arms in front of him and smirked. "What the hell is he doing up here? And with you?"

"It's none of your damn business." I started towards the bathroom, hoping to escape.

"I can make it my business. Or everyone else's."

I stopped dead in my tracks. That was the one thing Edward didn't want to lose. His anonymity.

"If you tell anyone I swear…" I started back towards him, hand outstretched ready to beat the shit out of him.

"I'd be willing to keep my mouth shut…if you do a little something for me." He took a strand of my hair between his fingers. "Come on. Just once. For old time's sake."

"Ew." I pushed him away, absolutely disgusted. "You know I have a couple of things you wouldn't want aired out to the world James, so I'd be careful about what you let slip." I glared at him and walked away.

I returned to Edward a few minutes later. He was trying to hide it from me, but he was still anxious about James. It was refreshing in a way, even though he had no reason to be. It made him more real, instead of just the heartthrob on the screen who could get any girl he wants.

James kept his eyes on me as he delivered our food. I took slow bites, savoring the food. Edward ate like a frantic maniac. It was probably partly due to the fact that James was standing inside staring at our table while he was talking to his buddy. I looked back over at Edward and realized that none of this mattered. He was trying so desperately to make this a perfect date, but I didn't need this and it definitely wasn't us.

Something inside me snapped and I just wanted to get out of there. I threw down my fork and grabbed Edward's hand.

"Let's get out of here…" I whispered into his ear.

"But I haven't paid the check yet…"

"Come on Edward. Be a little dangerous." I smirked and bit down a little on his earlobe. I nodded to the stairwell right behind us that led down to the marina.

He laughed quietly and glanced between the stairs and James. He pulled my hand as soon as James turned around and we were down the stairs. No one even noticed we had left. I bet James would notice when he had to foot our bill for letting us dine and dash. Edward and I ran laughing hysterically hand in hand down the sidewalk along the water.

We stopped when we were far enough away and turned towards each other. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted my head up to kiss him. "I knew you were a bad boy," I mumbled against his lips.

He responded by kissing me again, rougher than before. His hands drifted to my waist as he scooped me up, lifting my feet off the ground.

"What was that for?" I said when I finally caught my breath.

"For being you and for knowing me better in a week than anyone ever has in my entire life."

I was about to say something, but was interrupted by thunder in the distance.

"We better get back before we get drenched..." I grabbed his hand and started running the short distance back to the Inn. We ran straight up to his room and the instant the door closed he pressed me against it and kissed me. I opened my eyes for a brief moment and peered over his shoulder out the balcony. The storm clouds were dark as ever, crawling across the open water.

"Grab a blanket and meet me out on the balcony," I said, starting towards his dresser. I knew where his sweatpants were by now.

He grabbed the comforter off his bed and walked outside, shutting the screen door behind him. I slipped my dress off and pulled on a pair of his sweats and a shirt. I loved how they smelled. Just like him.

I hurried onto the porch and sat down next to him. He opened his arms to me, wrapping the blanket around both of us.

I leaned my head into his shoulder. "I love watching the storm clouds come in. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved it." I watched in amazement as lightning lit up over the water.

"Thanks for an amazing first date." I ran my fingers over his chest.

"Nothing beats ex-boyfriends, dine and dash and thunderstorms."

He turned his face towards me and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Bella I need you to know something. I know that we haven't known each other that long and I don't want to rush into anything. But you mean so much to me, more than anyone. And to be honest it kind of scares me. This has never happened to me before." He took my hand and placed it over his heart. It was beating rapidly, but slowed at my touch. "You're the only one who can make my heart beat faster and calm me down at the same time."

"Edward Cullen are you asking me to go steady?" I teased.

"Yeah I think I am."

"Well then I accept. Do I get to wear your class ring?" I held out my hands expectantly. He smiled and took the black tie bracelet he wore off his wrist and put it into my hands.

"Edward I can't take this?" I held the bracelet up. "You love this thing."

"I do. Which is why I want you to have it. We're starting down a really tough road Bella." He held me closer. "I need you to know my feelings for you, even if I'm not here all of the time to show you." He tied the bracelet around my wrist and then ran his hands over my cheeks.

"God you're so…" I cut him off with a kiss. His fingers ran down my neck and to my shoulders, grabbing them firmly and pushing me back to lie down on the porch. I jumped slightly and laughed at the crack of thunder, but he wasn't paying any attention to anything but me.

He crawled on top of me and smirked before diving below and placing soft kisses just above my belly button. I sighed heavily and closed my eyes, running my fingers through his hair. My eyes shot open when I felt him reach for the hemline of my sweatpants. He pulled them down slightly and continued kissing along the top of my underwear. Thank God Alice made me wear some cute ones instead of my ugly ones.

He looked up at me from underneath his long eyelashes. I grabbed some of his hair and pulled his face up to mine. My hand drifted to his back and the other reached for the buttons on his shirt, undoing them one after the other. I lifted my head up and kissed down the middle of his chest before he slipped his shirt off his shoulders.

I was never immune to the perfection of his body. How his muscles perked up and flowed with each movement.

He sat and pulled me up with him to sit on his lap. I pushed my hips forward to rub against his.

"Bella…" he sighed.

"Edward it's okay…" I smiled and reached to undo his pants.

His expression changed suddenly and he threw me quickly but gently away from him as he ran inside.

"Edward?" I called. I turned around and looked inside. The bathroom door was closed. I stood up and walked inside.

"Edward are you okay?" I knocked lightly on the door and leaned in. All I heard was moaning.

"Hey I'm coming in…" I tried to open the door but I could only get it so far, something was blocking the way. I peeked my head around the door and looked in. He was slumped over, his head in the toilet, puking his guts out.

"Oh my God…" I whispered to myself, stepping through the small opening in the door and kneeling next to him. "Babe are you okay?" I started rubbing his back.

"You don't have to see this. I know its gross." He spit a little into the bowl.

I stood up and went to the sink to grab him a glass of water.

"Here drink this. Just little sips." I handed him the glass. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I was fine and then all of the sudden I just…" he paused and handed the glass back to me quickly before ducking his head back in the toilet.

I kneeled back down next to him and rubbed his back for the next half hour while he got up, close and personal with the porcelain God.

"Hey do you think you can make it back to your bed? I'll bring a trash can over there so you don't have to keep rushing in here…" I whispered into his ear.

"Yeah." I helped him up and over to his bed, bringing the can over right away.

"Okay I'm just gonna go get…" I started out the door.

"No…" he grabbed my hand. "Please don't leave." He looked like he was going to get sick again.

I smiled a little and sat back down on the bed. He lay across my lap, can near his head, as I rubbed slowly up and down his back. I heard his soft snoring an hour later so I reached for my phone.

"Alice? Hey sorry to bother you, but can you do me a favor?...Edward's sick can you run and get him some ginger ale. He doesn't want me to leave….Okay thanks."

He stirred lightly as I set my phone back on the nightstand. I started playing with a strand of his hair, brushing it away from his face.

"Sweetie, Alice is going to go get you something for your stomach."

"She doesn't have to do that…" he whispered, his eyes still closed. "I think I'm okay now." He tried to get up, but ended up heaving more of his dinner into the can.

I sat up the entire night with him, comforting him and making him drink water. He slept periodically between his episodes, but he always had to be touching me in some way. If he wasn't draped across me, he was holding my hand, or rubbing his foot along my leg. And despite the situation it was one of our best nights together.

**A/N: So the date didn't go perfect, but I still think it was adorable. Maybe if you leave some good reviews Edward will feel better by the next chapter... : )**


	6. Grocery Shopping

**A/N: Ready for the aftermath of the date? : ) FYI: This is actually one of my favorite chapters so enjoy**

"Edward?" I whispered. I started running my fingers through his hair. "How are you feeling sweetheart?"

He kept his eyes closed and mumbled something. I bent down closer.

"What?"

"I said I haven't thrown up in…" he checked his watch. "Three hours so that's a plus I guess."

Alice knocked on the door and then entered the room with more ginger ale. She came in about every other hour during the night making sure we had enough supplies. She also had to take out the trash bags that he was puking in, thank God. I'd have to thank her for that later.

"Oh Bells…Charlie was wondering where you were. I told him you went down to the beach, but he said you were supposed to go get groceries today. He left some money in our room."

"Shoot." I whispered, leaning my head back onto the headboard.

Edward turned his head towards my stomach so he could look at me.

"You can go Bella. I'll be okay."

I bent down and kissed his cheek. "Why don't you come with me? Like you said, you haven't thrown up in awhile. Maybe some fresh air will do you good."

He turned his face away from me and gripped at his pillow. "I don't like grocery stores."

I was little confused by his response. I didn't know produce and hygiene products could be so frightening.

"Okay," I said softly. I lifted his pillow and kicked my legs to the side before placing his head back down. He pulled the covers up around him and closed his eyes. "I guess I'll see you later then." I opened the door and started to leave.

He let out a large sigh and sat up. "Fine I'll go."

He quickly brushed his teeth and threw on a dark hoodie and his sunglasses. I checked downstairs before he followed me down to my room so I could change.

He sat on my bed and watched as I pulled the shirt over my head. I laughed a little and threw it in his face when I saw that he was raking his eyes up and down my bare back. I pulled on a tank top and after a few sprays of body spray I was ready to go.

"Come on." I held out my hand to him and led him out of my room and into the garage, where my old truck sat.

"What the hell is this?" He lowered his sunglasses and took in my rusty junker.

"It's a classic," I said proudly as I pried the door open.

He shook his head and got into the passengers' seat.

I started the engine and started backing out of the garage. Edward pulled his hoodie up, practically enveloping his face in the darkness.

He reached over and placed his hand on my thigh without a second thought. It was comfortable, natural. Until he whipped it away and pulled his hood further down his face. I turned to see my father standing in the driveway. He approached the truck and raised an eyebrow.

I tried to relax and make the panic disappear from my face as I rolled down the window.

"Hey dad."

He set his arm on my window.

"Bells." He eyed Edward suspiciously.

"Dad you remember Bobby. He's staying with us. I was just…going to the grocery store and he offered to help me, you know, carry everything."

There was a long moment of silence that awkward did not even begin to describe.

"Uh huh." Charlie sighed and backed away from the truck.

I smiled and waved before pulling out and starting down the road.

Edward and I both let out a collective sigh as we rounded the first corner.

"That was close," I whispered.

"Do you think he knows?"

"Not yet. I think it's pretty much inevitable though."

He smiled a little and reached over to grab my hand.

We pulled into the parking lot and grabbed a cart as we entered the grocery store.

Edward insisted on pushing the cart around like a little kid. I started browsing through my list, deciding where we should go first.

The first aisle we headed down was the cereal aisle. I had just run out of Lucky Charms yesterday, so I needed some more.

I jumped a little as Edward's face was peering back at me from the Frosted Flakes box.

"And you wonder why I don't like grocery stores?" He laughed a little, drumming his fingers softly on the cart.

I peered back at the blue box with Edward' smiling face. Apparently if you turned in five proof of purchases you could win a ticket to Edward's next big blockbuster movie at your nearest theater. I shook my head and continued on.

We passed by Edward toothpaste, Edward posters, and a life sized cardboard cut out of Edward promoting some new vitamin. He was everywhere. I was starting to understand his reservations about a simple trip to the store. It must be exhausting living your life in this constant circus.

"Bella Swan?" I heard a female voice from behind me.

I spun around to a mess of fiery red hair and a smile as fake as Dolly Parton's boobs.

"Oh. Hi Victoria." I said softly.

"James told me he saw you last night." She was sizing up Edward, who was standing next to me with his hands in his hoodie pockets.

"Yeah."

"So how are you liking Michigan….Bobby? Was that your name?" She nodded towards Edward.

"Oh it's very nice. I like it here a lot."

"Maybe you should come here more often." She winked and started walking away. "We're having a bonfire down at the beach on Friday. You should come. You too Bella."

I gulped hard. She's playing games right now. James must have told her who he really was.

"I'm going to kill him…" I whispered.

"What the hell just happened?" Edward said, grabbing the cart and walking towards the check out.

"Nothing." I lied. "That's James' sister Victoria. She's a bitch and we don't like her."

Edward almost started laughing it off, until we approached the register. His fingers gripped way too tightly around the cart as he saw the line of magazines along the lane. He looked down towards the floor and started shuffling his feet nervously.

"Hey what's wrong?" I peeked over him and tried to see what was making him so antsy. I t wasn't uncommon for his face to be plastered along every one of the magazines in this row, all with made up stories used to sell the product. He leaped in front of me and started turning all of the covers around before I could see anything.

"Edward what do they say?" I crossed my arms in front of me and waited.

"Nothing…" His voice broke. Almost like he was on the brink of tears. "Hey I'm going to go wait in the car." He started looking around nervously, as if someone might recognize him.

"Stop." I held onto his arm and walked around the cart so I had full access to the tabloids. I grabbed one and flipped it around. _Edward Cullen checks into rehab_, _Drug Habit out of Control. _I shook my head and moved on to the next one. _Bitter showdown with Edward leaves Tanya in Tears. _The next one really set me off. _Baby Shocker: Woman Claims She Had Edward Cullen's Love Child._

I tipped my face up towards Edward, my mouth gaping.

"Bella I can explain…" he started.

My expression softened. "Why the hell do you think you have to explain any of this to me?" I held up the trashy magazines.

"I'm just…embarrassed. You aren't ashamed of me?"

"No I'm not ashamed of you. This isn't you Edward." I threw the magazines down on the ground. "I know you and these are not who you are. They're all bullshit." I took his face gently in my hands and pressed my lips softly to his. I felt him smile a little against my lips, but as soon as I pulled away, he looked down at the floor again. He was still self-conscious about them.

A fire started burning deep down inside me. It made me so angry that these stupid people were doing this to him. They didn't know him, know how sensitive he was, or how vulnerable he was.

I stared back at the magazines and grabbed a fistful, throwing them to the ground with the others.

"What are you doing?" Edward said, his eyes drifting to the crowd who had started watching my outburst.

"Defending your honor." I pressed my hands against the whole self and started pushing. It rocked back and forth a few times before it fell to the ground, spilling its contents all over the floor. I climbed over it and continued my assault on each of the racks in every lane. Edward and a small crowd just stood watch. The employees watched in horror, calling for a manager a million times.

When I felt like I had gotten rid of every piece of bullshit trash that was in that store I marched back to my lane and approached the cashier. "Clean up on all aisles huh?"

After the police escorted us out of the store, we started back to the Inn with no groceries and a fine for disturbing the peace. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain this one to Charlie.

"How bad is it?" I said, once we got into the garage and I had turned off the ignition.

He scratched his head and took his sunglasses off. "It wasn't that bad at first and then it was just like…it exploded into this huge thing. I couldn't even go out to lunch without being followed, or go to the damn post office. They were everywhere." He brought his knees up to his chest and turned towards me, leaning back against the door of the truck. "At first it was just the pictures, but then they started with all the stories, especially after that first one turned out to be partially true."

I asked the question with my gaze.

"My girlfriend, at the time, had a drug problem. She was out of control and I begged her to get help, but she just…wouldn't. I got pulled over one night for speeding with her in the car. She threw her drugs in my backseat as the officer approached my car. They searched it and I got thrown in jail that night for her mistake." He shook his head. "Someone in the jail must have talked to the press because it was all over the news the next morning."

I cringed as I remembered the story. _Is Hollywood's Golden Boy Falling from Grace? Drug Bust in Cullen's Car._

"And then it just went on from there. It got so hard to trust people Bella. It was absolute hell. Everytime I met someone I had to wonder if they were genuine or just looking to make a buck from the papers. I'd meet a nice girl at the bar and the next day she'd blab to TMZ about how I screwed her in the bathroom stall. I can't even…talk to someone without the media having a field day with it." He put his head in his hands. "I just couldn't deal with it anymore."

I scooted over on the seat and positioned myself between his knees.

"Edward I need you to know that I would never…ever do that to you." I grabbed his have and pulled it to mine. "Ever."

"I know you wouldn't Bella. It's just so hard. At first I just tried to ignore it, like Jasper said to do. And for the most part it worked. But it's just this constant…" He trailed off and leaned his head back to the window. "I wouldn't want my worst enemy to have to deal with some of the shit I go through. You never realize the backlash of chasing after your dream until its too late."

Edward and I sat in silence for a few moments before getting out of the truck and heading right upstairs to his room. I think we were exhausted from the emotional waterfall we had just experienced.

I didn't say a word as I slipped into a pair of his boxers and crawled into his bed. He took his shirt off and sat for a long time on the edge of the bed. I gauged his reaction as I crawled across the bed and came up behind him, pressing my body against his back. I wrapped my arms around him, running my fingers down his stomach.

"Thank you…" he whispered, tilting his head towards me.

"For what babe?" I kissed his neck softly.

"You take care of me better than anyone." He smiled a little.

I hugged him tighter and smirked into the skin on his shoulder.

"Come on let's go to bed…" I pulled him back and under the covers with me, escaping the world and the shit it was throwing at us. It was just us in here. We were safe. No one could touch us. I snuggled into Edward's chest and fell fast asleep, not caring what tomorrow might bring, just knowing that whatever it was I'd be there for him. And he'd be there for me. And that was it.


	7. Bonfire

**A/N: So I totally didn't even register that yesterday was Monday. So a huge sorry to you guys. I've posted two chapters for you two make up for it.  
**

"So what do you want to do tonight?" I said, looking around the room. It had been five days since my tantrum at the grocery store and we hadn't done anything since.

"We have to get out of this place Bella. Just one night at least. I think I'm getting cabin fever." Alice leaned her head back against the couch and started rubbing her temples.

"Agreed." Everyone else echoed.

Edward leaned over and bent down close to my ear. "You know there's always that bonfire tonight?"

He backed away as I glared at him.

"Bonfire?" Emmett said.

"Where's the bonfire?" Alice said, suddenly excited.

"At the beach. James and Victoria are throwing it." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of me.

"Ew." She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "But it is…something."

"Who's Victoria and James?" Rose asked.

"Bella's ex-boyfriend and his sister."

Emmett burst out into a fit of laughter. Edward smacked him on the head, shutting him up immediately.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I think we should crash this little beach party…" Emmett stood up and left the room.

"Agreed…" Everyone else said, looking directly at me.

"Fine," I huffed. I stomped out of the living room and upstairs to Edward's.

"Bella…" Edward caught up with me just as I flung myself on his bed. "Is it really going to be that bad?"

"Yes." I mumbled against the pillow.

"Baby…" He brushed my hair out of my face. "It won't be that bad."

"Promise me you won't leave me alone tonight…"

"Does the bathroom count?" He winked at me.

"Okay no the bathroom doesn't count…" I laughed.

"Okay then I promise." He pressed his lips softly to mine and jumped off the bed. "I'm going to take a shower…" He pulled his shirt over his head and started towards the bathroom.

"Me too." I smiled and left the room, heading down to mine to get ready to go.

I took a quick shower and stood in front of my mirror, combing through my hair. "It won't be that bad…" I whispered to myself. "It's just a party. We don't even have to stay long." I started talking animatedly with my hands, flinging my comb everywhere. "We can just…leave whenever we want. It'll be fine."

"Bella are you talking to someone?"

I screamed and turned towards the doorway, scared by the sudden entrance of my visitor.

"Alice!" I sat down on my bed, trying to recover my breath. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry." She shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"Hey can you braid my hair?" I scooted down to the floor and smiled at her.

"Of course I will." She sat on the bed behind me, placing a leg on each side of me and grabbing a mound of my hair.

"So how's everything going with your superstar?" She laughed.

I sighed deeply and grinned. "Amazing. He's amazing. I know we've only known each other for like two weeks, but it doesn't feel that way at all."

"Well I'm glad to see you happy Bells. It looks good on you." Her fingers ran through my hair quickly, leaving a loose French braid in their wake. She tied it with a rubber band and plopped it over my shoulder.

"So what about you and Jasper?" I turned around and kinked an eyebrow.

She ran her fingers through her hair and breathed deeply. "Bella he's just so…intense." She peered out from under her eyelashes. "He asked me to come out to L.A. and visit him next month."

"Oh my gosh! Alice! Please tell me you're going to go?"

"Well duh?" She knocked my head lightly. "Maybe you could come with me so you can see Edward."

I smiled thoughtfully. "Maybe."

"Alright let's go get the boys, it's getting late." She slapped my knee and headed out the door.

Alice grabbed my arm and put her hand over my mouth as we approached Edward's door. We could hear him talking to Emmett and Jasper inside.

"Alice I'm not eavesdropping on them."

"So how do you feel about her Edward?" My eyes shot to the sliver of the open door. I rushed over and pressed my ear closer.

"I don't know." Edward shook his head. "I mean, I do, but it just doesn't seem possible. It's too soon for _that _"l" word yet, but I'm definitely in like. A lot of like. She doesn't treat me like I'm some Hollywood actor. I'm not an object to her; I'm just a regular guy. Normal." He grinned. "I'm going to make it work with her. Whatever it takes."

Alice swung the door open with an exaggerated enthusiasm. "Hello boys…"

Edward turned beet red and extremely flustered for a moment, but he recovered quickly.

"Hi…" I said marching over to him, acting completely oblivious to his declarations.

"Hello…" He smirked a little. "Can I take you out sometime?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

I laughed and crawled onto his lap. "Maybe. What are you doing tonight stud?"

"Well I'm supposed to go to this bonfire with this one girl. But I think I'd much rather go with you instead."

I smiled and pressed my lips gently to his.

"Alright you P.D.A. pukefest let's get going." Alice nodded towards the door.

Edward stood up, carrying me in his arms with my legs wrapped around his waist. He threw me over his shoulder, starting down the stairs.

Charlie cleared his throat as we entered into the front lobby. Edward froze and put me down, shifting his weight nervously from side to side.

"Hey Dad." I smiled to try and lighten the mood.

"Hello Bella." His eyes narrowed at Edward.

Edward's eyes shifted to the door. "I'm going to wait outside." He ducked through the door faster than I could start to object.

"Where are you all headed off to?" Charlie crossed his arms in front of him.

"We're going down to the beach. There's a bonfire."

"Uh huh…"

"Have a good night Dad." I walked over and pecked him on the cheek before the rest of us followed Edward outside.

"You know. Standing in front of your dad right there was the single most nerve-wracking moment of my life."

"Aw sweetie. That's so…cute." I wrapped my arm in his and we started towards the beach. The sun was just setting over the water and I could see the light gray smoke from the bonfire billowing up over the sand dunes.

As we reached the peak a small campfire came into sight with a group of people standing around it.

"Bella…Bobby." James eyed Edward suspiciously. "So glad you could make it." He held out his hand and shook Edward's.

"James this is my brother Emmett and his girlfriend Rosalie. And this is my friend Jasper." Edward introduced James to everyone.

"Hey Vic. Come over here." James yelled towards Victoria. "This is my sister Victoria."

"Can I get you guys something to drink?' She smiled in Edward's direction.

"Yeah sure."

"Follow me." She motioned over towards a small table over on the other side of the campfire.

I held tight onto Edward's arm as we walked across the group of people, warranting a lot of strange glances and "Isn't that?" from the group. Hopefully they'd be drunk enough to think they just had some pretty intense beer goggles on.

Three shots and four beers later we were all sitting around the campfire. Emmett and Rose sat next to each other on the sand, Rose's head rested on Emmett's shoulder. Alice and Jasper rested side by side on a piece of driftwood. Edward sat on a rock, with me on the sand nestled between his legs. His arms were draped around me as he spoke with the local kid who was sitting next to us.

"So how long have you guys been together?" Mike asked.

Edward looked down at me and kissed the crook of my neck. "What has it been babe? Almost two weeks?"

"Seems like forever." I tilted my head up and pulled his face to mine. "I gotta pee." I jumped up and stumbled a little bit, obviously effects from the alcohol, and headed up towards the bathrooms just over the dune.

"You're so sexy when you talk like that baby…" Edward called.

I laughed and disappeared over the hill.

Five minutes later I reemerged from the bathroom smiling, loving how amazing my life was right now.

"Bella…" Someone whispered from the darkness behind me.

"Edward?" I whispered, stepping closer to the voice.

"No," James laughed. "It's not Edward." He stumbled to the ground, almost breaking the bottle of vodka in his hand.

"Are you okay?" I bent down and started to pull him up, but he reached up and pulled me down instead.

"I'm a little drunk." He whispered.

"Yeah I can tell. Let's get you back up." I tried to get back up but he rolled over on top of me.

"Bella." I could smell the liquor on his breath. It was nauseating. "We were pretty good together weren't we?"

"No we weren't. We were just young and there wasn't anybody else."

"No I mean…physically." He started tracing down my jaw line and down towards my chest.

"Get off me you asshole." I tried to push him away but his dead weight above me was too much.

"Just one last time…" he whispered into my ear. "I won't tell if you won't." He started kissing my neck.

"Stop! James stop!" His hand reached for the button on my jeans. The tears started flowing down my cheeks as I fought against him, but it was no use. I screamed as he ripped open my shirt, tearing it right down the middle. He grabbed my shoulders roughly. I could feel his fingers digging into my flesh.

And then he was gone. His weight suddenly gone from on top of me. I looked to the side to see him and Edward wrestling around in the sand. Emmett and Jasper quickly joined him and restrained James to the ground.

Rosalie and Alice ran over to me and picked me up off the ground, their mouths gaping open. Rosalie unzipped her hoodie and placed it around my shoulders.

Edward brought his hand back and forward again, connecting it with James' face, a loud crack echoing out.

"You touch her again and I'll kill you," Edward said very calmly, walking away from James and sweeping me up into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into his chest. I spit towards James as we passed him, crippled in pain on the ground.

"Thank you." I kissed his neck tenderly.

"Nobody touches my girl." He kissed my forehead as we entered the Inn. He carried me straight up to his room.

"You're such a badass," I said, laughing through the tears.

"Damn straight I am."

He placed me in bed and crawled next to me, pulling me onto his chest. I fell asleep quickly, already feeling the horrendous hangover that was about to plague my day tomorrow. I think I'll be calling in sick.

"Here take these." He handed me some Tylenol and a glass of water. I took a sip and gave it back to him.

"Nope. Whole thing." He pushed it back at me and I gulped the entire thing.

"Goodnight." I closed my eyes tight and tried to go to sleep. Edward nuzzled into my hair and ran his hands up and down my back, willing me to sleep.

"I almost love you Bella Swan…" He whispered into my hair, thinking I was already fast asleep.

"I almost love you too Edward Cullen." I smiled into his chest and fell fast asleep.


	8. Maury and the Oversized Couch

"What the hell happened last night?" I whispered to myself, rubbing my hand against my throbbing forehead and opening my eyes.

Edward moaned beside me and sat up slowly, blinking into the light of his room.

"Swan…that was a rough night, even for me And I live in Hollywood."

I started laughing but it hurt too much so I just grabbed for his face and pulled him towards me. He winced a little as he crawled towards me.

"Hey what's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing."

He slipped his hand pretty quickly behind him, only warranting more suspicion from me.

"Give it…" I held out my hand and nodded towards him.

He reluctantly pulled his hand from behind him and laid it gently onto mine.

"Edward…how…" I started flipping his bruised hand over to examine the other side. It was swollen and purple and just all over gross.

"I think I hit James last night…" He scratched his head with his other hand.

"I think you did too sweetie." I brought his hand up to my lips and kissed it gently. "I'm sorry."

"Hey…I'd do it again in a heartbeat." He smiled and leaned in to place a kiss on my neck. "Except maybe without the excessive drinking." He fell back on his bed and covered his eyes with his arm.

"Amen to that. I feel like a train wreck." I propped my head up against my hands. "Maybe we should try eating something." My eyes drifted to the door.

"I guess so."

We both very slowly got out of bed and started towards the door. Edward wrapped the comforter around him, carrying it with him down the stairs.

Alice stood in the kitchen pouring some milk into her cereal bowl, hair spiking out in every direction.

"Good morning Alice."

She flipped me off and shuffled back to our room.

"She's not a morning person…" I explained to Edward.

We grabbed some bagels and debated going back to his room, but one look at the stairs vetoed that idea so we settled on the oversized couch in the living room.

For the rest of the day we ate our bagels, watched the Maury Povich Show, and played excessive amounts of Hangman.

"That's a dude," I said, dismissing Edward's claim that the drag queen strutting on Maury's stage was in fact a woman.

"Bella look at her boobs. It's a woman."

"You'd think that living in the land of plastic surgery that you'd be able to tell that they're fakes. Amateur." I shook my head in mock disappointment.

"Okay guess another letter." He handed me the notebook.

"O." I glanced down at the paper as he contemplated the positions of the letters and wrote them on the page.

My fingers roamed over the page, trying to decipher his message.

YO_ _OOK _ER_ SE_ _ RI_ _ T _O_

I threw the notebook at him. "Damn it Edward I don't know. I give up." I'd played enough rounds of this game that I was starting to blur everything together. And plus my brain hurt like a bitch.

He smiled and leaned over close to me, wrapping the blanket around me and pulling me to him.

"It said…" He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "You look very sexy right now…" He nibbled a little on my ear lobe.

"Really?" I smirked, turning my face to his and finding his lips. His hands found my waist under the blanket and started roaming down my hips and to my thighs. I stretched my leg across the couch and across his waist. His lips left mine and started making a trail down my neck and towards my chest.

"Bella?" Charlie shouted, just outside the room. Edward and I quickly detangled ourselves from each other and sat at completely opposite ends of the couch, the farthest away from each other that we could get.

"Hey there you are." He stopped when he saw Edward. "Oh…Hello Bobby."

"Sir," Edward said, keeping his eyes fixed on the television.

"What are you guys watching?" Charlie said, smiling as he plopped down on the couch right between Edward and me. Edward sighed in frustration. Charlie knew exactly what he was doing and he was proud of it.

"Maury…" I said, trying to hold in my laughter at Edward's annoyance.

I reached my hand behind Charlie's head and behind the back of the couch. Edward's finally found mine and started rubbing small circles with his thumb on the back of it. He traced slowly down each one of my fingers and back up again. Surprisingly, it was one of the sexiest things I've ever felt. He smiled as he saw the effect he was having on me. He pushed his palm into mine and extended his lengthy fingers, pulling them back through the spaces between my fingers.

My eyes rolled into the back of my head as an audible sound escaped my lips. "Oh my God…" I whispered.

"What was that Bells?" Charlie turned towards me.

Edward instantly dropped my hand and laughed into his arm, coughing to cover it up.

"I just…I can't believe that woman was really a man Dad. I just can't believe it." I shook my head and turned my eyes intently to the television until Charlie did the same.

"So bad…" I mouthed towards Edward, whose arm was draped idly across the back of the couch. His head rested on it as he started deeply into my eyes. His were full of lust and desire and…almost love. It was intense to say the least. My breaths started coming faster and faster just looking at him.

He grabbed the notebook we'd been playing Hangman on and scribbled something on it before ripping the page out. He held it up to me behind Charlie's head and out of his view.

_Meet me in your room. _

I shook my head firmly. He nodded his even more insistently and got up from the couch.

"Well I'm going to go to bed. I haven't been feeling too well today. Goodnight Charlie. Bella…" He winked as he left the room. He skipped the stairs and headed straight down the hallway to Alice and my room.

I waited ten minutes before I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. "I think I'm going to take a bath and go to bed too Dad. It's been a long day." I pecked him on the cheek and headed back towards my room. Alice and Jasper were crumpled up on the floor in the hallway.

"What the hell are you doing?" I whispered.

"Your boyfriend kicked us out." Alice said, malice dripping from her voice.

"I'm sorry guys. You go up in his room. We'll stay down here tonight."

I opened my door and stepped inside expecting Edward to tackle me as soon as I got a foot inside. To my surprise he didn't.

"Edward?" I called. I started towards the sound of flowing water coming from my bathroom.

I pushed the door open and peeked inside. Edward's clothes were in a pile on the floor. He sat in my bathtub with bubbles almost pouring over the sides.

"Um…Am I in the right room?" I teased.

Edward smiled and laid his head back. "You bet your ass you are."

I sauntered over to him and leaned over the tub, brining my face close to his. "Are you trying to seduce me Mr. Cullen?"

"I don't know. Is it working?" He opened one eye.

"Maybe…"

"Then yes I am." He placed his hand on the back of my head and pulled my lips to his. I titled my head to the side and ran my tongue along his bottom lip as his hands tangled in my hair. I stepped over the tub wall and into the water, still in my pajamas, to sit on his lap. I ran my fingers down his chest and down to his bare hips.

He pulled his face back and cupped my face in his hands. "Are you sure?" He whispered as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

I leaned back and pulled my wet shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor. He rolled me under him, the water and bubbles sloshing over the tub wall and onto the floor. His fingers made their way down my sides to the top of my submerged pajama pants. He gripped at the hem as I titled my hips up towards him. He shimmied them down to my ankle and tossed them out of the tub.

I wasn't a virgin, James had taken that from me years ago, but I've never experienced anything like making love to Edward. It was pure satisfying bliss in the most loving way imaginable. We fit together perfectly, more perfectly than pieces in a puzzle. And I've never had such a high in my life.

"That was amazing…" I said as my back slid down his wet chest, settling into a perfect spot.

He didn't say anything. I turned my head towards him and he was wiping something away from his eye.

Another tear escaped from his eyes before he could wipe it away.

"Are you okay?" My finger reached up and dabbed at the moisture running down his cheeks.

He smiled tenderly and pressed his lips down to mine, before resting his forehead on my shoulder. "I'm more than okay…" He placed a soft kiss on my shoulder, and dragged his teeth lightly along my neck.

My head lulled back and my lips parted slightly. My body, that had been in an ecstasy induced coma for the past fifteen minutes, was suddenly alive and on fire. His fingers trailed down my body, leaving a spark on every inch of skin they touched.

I turned my body around to face him and pulled my face up to his. My lips were a moment away from taking his when there was a knock at the door.

"Bells, it's me." Charlie said. "I know you're taking a bath and everything but I just really needed to talk to you." I heard him sit down in the chair on the other side of the door. "Alice told me you were still in here."

I gasped. Damn you Alice.

Edward completely ignored the fact that my father was sitting on the other side of the door and started kissing my neck greedily.

"Yeah Dad?" My voice cracked.

"Look sweetie, I'm not a dummy okay. I know you said you and this Bobby kid are just friends but I see the way you act with each other."

Edward grabbed my hips and forced my forward, crashing my chest into his.

"And I know you're a grown woman and you make your own decisions, but just be careful baby okay? I mean this guy is leaving in a few weeks and I don't want you to get in over your head."

I closed my eyes tight as I moved my hips against Edward. There silence for a moment, besides the sounds of the water sloshing back and forth with our movements.

"Bells?"

"Yeah Daddy…" I whispered.

Edward smirked up at me. "Daddy? That's kind of hot. Say it again." He ran his fingers down my back and pushed his forehead into my chest.

I bent down close to him and took his ear between my teeth. "Daddy…" I said in a raspy whisper.

"Okay honey I guess that's it. Goodnight Bells."

"Night!" I yelled, collapsing on top of Edward. He wrapped his arms lazily around my waist as I pulled myself closer to him.

"You know…" Edward laughed. "I know that they say bubble baths are a girly thing. But I think I really like them."

I laughed and looked around the room. It was an absolute mess. There was water and bubbles all over the floor. And somehow there was some bubbles on the ceiling too. I wonder how those got there.

"We should really clean this up." I pecked his lips and stepped up and out of the tub.

He sat and watched me as I grabbed a towel from the cupboard and wrapped it around my body. I picked up both of our drenched clothes from the floor and wrung them out, hanging them up to dry.

I watched him in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. He stepped out of the tub and ran his fingers through his wet hair before shaking his head back and forth. He opened the bathroom door and walked right out into my bedroom, not caring that he was buck-naked. I took the absence of Alice's screams as a sign that we were alone.

When I came out of the bedroom he was laying in my bed, the covers draped loosely up to his waist. My eyes lingered over the deep V formed by his muscles at his hips. His arm went up behind his head as his face drooped towards me in a deep sleep.

I climbed into bed with him and reached to turn out the light. His arms were draped around my waist before I could lay back down.

"Goodnight love…" He whispered, still fully asleep.

"Goodnight."


	9. Declarations

"So what is this thing we're doing again?" Edward lifted the canoe above his head and onto the Jeep.

"It's our Fourth of July tradition sweetheart. We canoe down the river and set up camp at the mouth of the river, right where it empties into the lake. There's a really pretty beach there. And then tomorrow night they'll set off fireworks over the water and we'll be back here early Sunday morning."

"You do realize I live in L.A. right?"

"Yes I do." I jumped up on my tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Dude I'm so excited for this trip!" Emmett came out of the Inn, pumped up more than all of us combined.

Alice dragged Jasper out of the door, sporting a cute little fisherman's hat.

"Okay girls in the Jeep and boys in the truck." Rose pointed, jumping into the drivers' seat of the Jeep.

"I'll see you when we get there." I smiled at Edward.

"Actually Bella, can it just be us in the truck. I want to talk to you about some things." Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the truck.

The moment I looked into his eyes I knew it was important. "Hey guys, we'll meet you there."

I jumped into the passenger's side of the truck and waited for Edward. He spoke with Emmett and Jasper for a few minutes before joining me.

"Ready to go?" He smiled and put the truck in drive.

"Yep."

I knew we only had a half hour or so before we got to the river, so if he wanted to talk to me about something he'd better get going.

"So…" I edged.

"So." He smirked. "I want to talk to you about New York."

"Baby I don't want to talk about you leaving next week," I whined. "It just makes me sad." These past four weeks had flown by faster than I liked, but it felt like I'd known him forever. It was the strangest feeling ever, but I know I didn't want it to go away. And I was terrified it would for him when he left next week.

"Well that's what I wanted to talk to you about?"

My spirits lifted a little. "You don't have to leave?" I asked.

"No, I still have to leave silly," he laughed. "But I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go with me…to the awards show…as my date?" He glanced at me slightly before shifting his eyes back to the road.

"Wow…" I wasn't expecting that. Edward Cullen just invited me to be his date to a major awards show. There'd be a red carpet, and photographers, and limos, and….Ryan Seacrest. It sounded terrifying. "I don't know Edward…" I shook my head.

"Please Bella." He picked up my hand and brought it to his lips. "It will be absolutely unbearable without you. Please say you'll go."

All fear disappeared in that moment. "Okay."

"Okay," he smiled.

Ten minutes later we pulled onto a small dirt road with a sign announcing the big Fourth of July Canoe Campout. We parked the car next to the Jeep and got out.

"Is that Bella Swan over there?" A big voice laughed. I'd know it anywhere.

"Jake!" I spun around. "You ready for me to kick your ass again in the canoe race?" I punched him playfully in the arm.

"That was one time. And it was a fluke. I think you weighed our boat down." He joked. "Who's the guy?"

I covered my face in embarrassment. My best friend had no problem being blunt and forward.

"Jake this is Edward. Edward this is Jake."

Edward's face went blank when I used his real name.

Jake extended his hand. "Edward Cullen at our little campout? Never thought I'd see that." He laughed.

"Edward relax. Jake is my best friend. He won't tell anyone. And if he does I'll kick his ass and he knows it."

Edward relaxed a little bit then and took Jake's hand. "Nice to meet you." He wrapped his other arm around my waist. "So you're Bella's best friend?"

"Well don't let Alice hear you say that, but yeah." Jake laughed. "We grew up together. Our dad's are best friends so it just seemed natural to us."

"Jake!" Billy called from the doorway of his little cabin. "It's almost time. Get your boats in the water!" He smiled towards me. "Hey Bella!"

"Hey Billy!"

"So are you going to kick Jake's ass again?" He laughed.

"Oh you know it!"

With that Billy whistled, getting the attention of the large group standing there.

"Okay folks listen up. You'll all push off at the same time. Make sure you get a map of all the splits in the river. You can take whichever path you want, or whichever one you think will get you there the fastest. We have rewards for the first three teams of three to reach the beach. Once you've unloaded all the things you'll need from your cars, one person from your team will need to drive it down to the beach. A shuttle van will drive you back here and we'll start the race in about a half hour." He turned and walked back in the cabin.

"So girls vs. boys?" Alice said, a smirk across her face.

"Please," Emmett taunted. "You guys are toast."

"We'll see babe." Rosalie plucked the Jeep keys out of his pocket and we all stalked towards the Jeep. The guys congregated in a huddle before breaking apart to get their things out of the truck.

We unloaded the canoe, with no help from the boys and carried it down to the launch site, tying it to the shore. After we got the rest of the stuff out, Rosalie got in the Jeep and drove it down to the beach. Edward quickly followed her with the truck.

I sat down on the porch on the back of the cabin, basking in the sunlight and looking out over the river.

"So Bells?" Jake sat down next to me and slapped my knee. "You're dating Edward Cullen?"

I punched him again and laughed. "Shhh. Don't say it so damn loud! Nobody knows he's up here."

"Okay. I promise I won't say anything. You think Hollywood can row a canoe?"

"I don't know but I'll love watching him try."

I turned my head as the shuttle brought everyone back to the launch site.

"Alright!" Billy yelled. "All teams to their boats. Launch will be in five minutes."

Everyone started towards their boats, grabbing maps from Billy on the way. I didn't need a damn map. I've been doing this race since I was six years old. I knew this river like the back of my hand. Every split, every bend, every broken tree.

"May the best team win." Edward said, stepping into their canoe.

"Oh don't worry we will." I smirked at him and placed a soft kiss on his lips before going to our boat.

"Okay everyone, the Fourth of July Canoe Campout begins in 3…2…1!" Billy lit a small batch of fireworks, sending them out over the river. Everyone pushed off from the bank and we were on our way.

Alice sat in the middle, with me and Rose rowing in the back and front. "Row, row, row…" Alice chanted a little to enthusiastically.

"Alice if you keep that up you won't be making it to the finish line," Rose said through her teeth. I smiled and continued rowing. I was pleasantly surprised with Rosalie. Yeah she was a supermodel and hot shit and all that, but she was a tough bitch and I loved it. She didn't complain about having to row, or the mud in the river, or the bugs in the air. She just dealt with it and trudged on. We were out ahead of the pack in no time. I turned back to see where our boys are and almost doubled over laughing.

Jasper was standing up in the middle of the canoe with his hands on his head, wondering what the hell they were doing. Edward was in the front, screaming at Emmett for steering them into a tree. He was practically hanging onto the branch as they continued towards the trunk. Emmett was paddling with all his might. First on the left side and then on the right, not sure which one was right.

"See you at the beach boys!" Alice called, waving to them. We disappeared around the bend.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" I said, starting to seriously question if they'd make it the whole way through.

"They'll be fine. It'll be good for them," Rosalie said as we approached the first split in the river. "Okay Bella which way do we go?"

"To the left. Everyone with a map will go right because it looks a lot shorter. But the current is much quicker, it'll be faster."

We quickly paddled to the left and hoped that no one had seen our detour.

"So," Rose started once we'd got going down the river. "How's it going with you and Edward?"

I brought the oar up and set it on my lap, allowing us to float slowly down the water. "It's going...more than great. He's amazing."

"Yeah he is. Just be careful with him okay? He may seem like he's got it all together, but he's more fragile than you think. He's one of the few that hasn't been jaded by the business." She started paddling again.

"Are you including yourself in that?" I asked.

"Yes," she said seriously. "Bella I'm not proud of some of the things I've done. I started modeling to get away from my normal life. Everyone teased me about it. I was addicted to cocaine by the time I was sixteen. In and out of rehab four times by my twenty-first birthday. Then I met Emmett through Edward. He saved my life."

"Wow...I'm sorry Rose."

"Don't be. That's pretty normal for the business. Which makes it even more unbelievable that Edward is still Edward."

I suddenly realized how precious Edward really was. He was genuine even in a world where everyone is a fake drug addicted whore. I smiled just thinking about it.

"Okay enough on the E! True Hollywood Story of Rosalie Hale, let's win this bitch." Rose dug her paddle in the water. I followed suit as we continued to pick up speed along the river. Alice had resumed her normal position, sunbathing on the bottom of the boat with a Glamour magazine in her hand.

My shortcut worked exactly the way it was supposed to. We were the first to arrive, not to the surprise of Billy.

"Wow Bells, you shaved about ten minutes off your time from last year." Billy yelled as we rounded the final bend. I stood up and stepped out of the boat as the river became too shallow to paddle. Rose and I pulled the boat to shore, Alice still sunbathing.

"Alice we're done!" I yelled.

"Oh!" She jumped. "Well. Good work team!"

Rose and I laughed. "Yeah good work team!" We high fived each other.

Jake's canoe rounded the bend not even five minutes after we had. He threw his oar down in frustration.

"Kicked your ass again!" I yelled.

He scrunched his face up, completely frustrated that he'd lost.

The rest of the teams started flowing in about every ten minutes or so, but there was no sign of the boys. A lone paddle rounded the bend ten minutes later.

"Well should we send out a search party?" Rose said, raising her hand above her eyes.

"No I have faith in them. Give them another half hour."

Just like clockwork, we heard screaming from around the bend.

"Dammit Emmett you just whacked me in the head with your oar!" Jasper yelled.

"Well maybe if Edward hadn't lost our other one I wouldn't have to row so hard!"

"Don't blame me for the damn wolf coming out of nowhere and scaring the shit out of me! I didn't see you diving in after it either after it starting flowing down the river!"

They finally rounded the bend, their faces turning from angry to amazed that they had survived the trip.

"Baby!" Edward yelled to me. "We did it!" He stood up and started pumping his fist in the air.

I smiled and clapped at him just as the canoe started rocking back and forth a little too violently. Edward's arms started flailing as Emmett reached for a nearby tree branch, but it was too late. All poor Jasper could do was sit and watch as their canoe tipped over, spilling them all into the river.

"Good job ass." Emmett said once he surfaced, spitting water out of his mouth.

They grabbed the canoe and floated downstream with it until it was shallow enough to tip it over and carry it up to shore.

"I'm so proud of you…" I said, wrapping my arms around Edward's waist.

"Thanks." He bent down and kissed me softly. His stomach grumbled.

"Let's get you some food." I grabbed his hand and pulled him over towards the grill, where Jake was firing up some hamburgers and hot dogs.

"Two please."

Jake smiled and plopped two burgers onto my plate.

After dinner we started putting up our tent. It would be an interesting weekend, all of us in one tent. But thankfully it was one big tent.

It was almost dark by the time we finished putting it up. Jake was just lighting the campfire, passing out marshmallows to everyone.

I pulled Edward along and showed him how to roast his marshmallow, turning it slowly over the embers instead of thrusting it right into the fire. He didn't listen. He burned three of them before he finally took my advice.

"Hey Bella we've got some sparklers if you want some?" Jake turned behind him and grabbed a box, handing them to me.

I practically squealed with delight. Sparklers were my favorite thing about the Fourth of July. I grabbed one out of the box and handed it to Alice and Rose. It sparked the instant I stuck it in the flame. I danced out into the darkness, frolicking around like a carefree kid. My feet spun around quickly, creating a sea of light whizzing by me. The whole world was a blur of slow motion, except for Edward. I saw him clearly the entire time. He was sitting on the trunk of a tree, licking his fingers and watching me dance around.

I smiled and walked over to him, grabbing his hand, another box of Sparklers, and a box of matches.

"Where are we going?" He smirked.

"It's a surprise…" I laughed.

We walked for another five minutes before I sat down on the sand, pulling him down with me. I took my time lighting a few sparklers and sticking them in the sand all around us.

I crawled onto his lap and started running my fingers through the sand on either side of my legs.

"Hi," I said, my lips close to his.

"Hi."

He pressed his lips to mine, slow at first but becoming more urgent with each passing moment. And then he did something totally unexpected; he wrapped his arms around me and just…hugged me. We sat for a long time just wrapped up in each other, not saying or doing anything else. I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder, feeling completely content. If I could capture any moment of my life thus far and frame it, this would be it.

He pulled my hair away from my face and placed a trail of kisses from my neck to my shoulder and back again.

"I love you…" I whispered. His lips froze on my skin and I worried that I'd freaked him out. I pulled back and looked into his eyes. They were far away, very distant.

"Hey I didn't mean to scare you." I took his face in my hands. "And I don't expect you to say it back, but I just wanted you to know." I looked him directly in the eye. "I love you."

I put my arms around him again and crashed my body into his. He ran his fingers through my hair, rocking us slightly back and forth. "I love you too."

I unconsciously smiled into his chest. Even though I didn't want him to say it just because I said it, it still felt good to hear it.

"I really do Bella. And you didn't scare before. I just…I've never had anyone say those words to me and really mean it. They used to be just words to me, completely void of meaning." He kissed my neck softly. "But now I know what it means…" He whispered.

After a moment he spoke again. "Hey I almost forgot. I bought you something."

"Edward you didn't have to do that."

"I know but I saw it when I went into town the other day and it reminded me of you." He pulled a silver necklace out of his pocket and clasped it around my neck. I ran my fingers down the thin chain and lingered over the beautiful feather charm.

"Thank you…" I brought my lips to his and pushed him down into the sand. I lifted my arms over my head and smiled. He grabbed the bottom of my shirt and pulled it over my head. I laughed softly and reached for his pants, pulling them down just far enough.

After a few minutes of the famous sex on the beach, we decided that sand in our ass was not worth it.

We walked back to camp, hand in hand, laughing and joking together.

"It was like going down a sandpaper slide….naked," Edward laughed.

"Good thing I was on top because that does not sound pleasant."

I paused for a moment when we reached the campfire. It looked like everyone had gone to bed, except for Rose and Emmett who were cuddled up by the fire.

Edward and I tiptoed towards our tent, assuming Alice and Jasper were already asleep. I was just about to reach for the zipper when a voice inside stopped me.

"Show me what you've got handsome," Alice said.

I turned back to Edward and stifled a laugh.

"Are you sure?" Jasper said.

"Yeah hit me baby."

There was a strange noise. I couldn't figure out what it was.

"Oh!" Alice gasped. "It's so…big."

I grinned and slowly grabbed the zipper. Payback's a bitch Alice and I owe you for the Charlie stunt.

I suddenly yanked down the zipper to reveal Alice and Jasper….playing cards?

"What the hell is this? I thought you two were having sex."

"We're playing Blackjack silly." Alice laughed.

I was genuinely bummed that I didn't catch them in a more compromising position so I just slipped into our sleeping bag and fell fast asleep. Edward stayed up for a while playing with them before I felt him slip in beside me, putting his arm around me and pulling himself close.

We relaxed on the beach most of the next day. Our night of declarations was a big thing for us. The beach was the perfect thing to do to relax before heading back to the Inn the next morning. We had to pack up and leave by five a.m. so it was going to be an early start.

The fireworks were brilliant. I sat in between Edward's legs, resting against his chest as the lights flashed in the dark sky above us. Everyone was so happy in that moment; it felt like nothing could touch us. We were perfect.

Getting up the next morning was hell on earth. I slept on the middle armrest the whole way home. Edward drove with one hand and ran his fingers idly through my hair with the other. When I woke up we were back at our beach, parked right in behind the pier and the lighthouse.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"An hour and a half. The rest of them headed back to the Inn."

I grabbed his hand and peered out over the water. The sun had just risen above it, its bright orange hue reflecting in the water.

"Let's go out to the lighthouse." I opened my car door and jumped out.

"This is beautiful…" Edward said as we started walking down the pier.

"It's one of my favorite places on earth. Sometimes I just come out here and sit." I looked down as we walked. "You know if I'm upset or…just need some time with my thoughts. It's very therapeutic watching the waves crash over the side like that." I pointed out to the end of the pier.

We finally reached the lighthouse. There were a few early morning fishermen out there but other than that it was completely deserted. Edward ran his fingers along the base of the lighthouse, tracing along all the names carved into the metal.

"Gosh there are so many names here. I always wondered what happened to each of them. You know if they're still together." I read a few of them out loud. "Annie loves Tom. Robert loves Amanda." I smiled to myself. "I like to believe that as long as they're on the wall then they're still living their happily ever after."

Edward walked over to one of the fisherman and tapped his shoulder, bending down to ask him for something. Edward traded the man for something and then walked back to me. He smiled and started chiseling the paint with a brand new fishhook.

"There. Now we get our happily ever after." He stepped back and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I smiled as I read what he'd written.

_Edward loves Bella_.

I was just about to kiss him for being so adorable when my phone rang.

"Hey Alice what's up?"

"Bella you guys need to get back here right now." Her voice sounded panicked.

"What's wrong?"

"Please just get back here." She hung up.

I turned towards Edward. "We have to go."

We ran as fast as we could down the pier without falling over the edge and into the water. A million thoughts were racing through my mind. Something was wrong with Charlie, or there was a fire at the Inn. Nothing could have prepared me for what was coming.

Edward slowed as we pulled up to the Inn.

"Shit…" He muttered, shutting off the Jeep and sighing deeply.

**A/N: Uh ohs...what is this disaster waiting for them back at the Inn? Thoughts? Reviews? All I can say is I'd go for sexytime with Edward on the beach even if I got sand in my ass. **


	10. Trust

**A/N: Soooo about half of you thought it was the paps, and the other half thought it was Tanya. Well I can tell you that half of you are right : ) You guys are so smart. **

**Also, it's hard to believe but I only have 2 chapters left of this story (after this one). But don't be sad because I have an idea for a sequel that would be a lot longer and stuff. Like I said this story was done as a birthday present and I didn't really have the time to make it a real fanfiction story so it's relatively short. Unfortunately the sequel will probably not be happening for awhile because of my other stories and school, but if you haven't already you should read my other stories, I have 4 completed ones : )  
**

Edward grabbed my hand firmly and pulled me through the crowd of flashbulbs.

"Edward is this your new girlfriend?"

"What's your name sweetheart?"

"How long have you been hiding your romance?"

I blinked several times and put my hand up to shield myself from the circus.

We finally got inside and locked the door behind us. The paparazzi were lined up all along any open window they could find. Alice and Emmett ran to the windows and pulled down the shades.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked.

"I don't know Bella. They showed up a few minutes after we got back. That's when I called you." Alice said, pulling the last shade shut.

"How did they find us?" I shook my head.

"Well you should know shouldn't you?" Edward scowled. "I knew I couldn't trust you…" He turned and ran up the stairs.

I stomped up right after him and burst into his room. "Don't you dare talk to me like that! Like I'm just another one of those stupid girls who throw themselves at you in all the bars!" He might think he can throw one of those diva temper tantrums with anyone, but he wouldn't get away with it with me.

He was grabbing every article of clothing he could find and stuffing it in his backpack.

"Aren't you though?" He said through clenched teeth. He paused for a few moments. "You're just…like…them."

Those words cut me deep. I couldn't believe he was saying them, it didn't make sense. I sunk down to the edge of his bed and watched him finish packing up the rest of his things.

"Edward what are you saying?" I whispered, tears starting to run down my face. "What about us, what about New York?"

"There is no us. And I'll be leaving for New York a little early, alone. I don't need someone just looking for their fifteen minutes of fame."

He thinks I told the photographers he was here. My heart sank. I couldn't believe he could think such a terrible, horrendous thing about me. I would never do that.

There was a knock on the door and Emmett and Jasper walked in.

"The car is out front Edward," Jasper's eyes glanced in my direction.

"Okay I'll be down in a minute." He paused and turned towards me. "Bella I need to pack my things up can you give me some privacy please?" His eyes never left the floor.

I sighed and lifted myself off his bed.

"You know what Edward. I feel sorry for you. You're so damn paranoid all the time I know you'll never be able to experience love. So even though you think I betrayed you, its you who'll lose in the end. I hope you enjoyed your visit at the Harbor Lights Inn, please do come again." I curtsied and slowly closed the door behind me.

I stood in the hallway for a couple of minutes trying to regain the breath I just lost.

"Edward do you really think she told them you were here?" Emmett said.

"Who else would have Em? I thought she was different. I guess I was wrong. You can go now, I'll be down in a few minutes."

I ran down the hallway and down the stairs before Jasper and Emmett left Edward's room. Alice and Charlie were sitting at the front desk.

"Bella do you want to explain to me what the hell is going on outside my hotel?" Charlie put his hands on his hips and nodded towards the doorway. I could still hear the cameras clicking.

"No." I said softly as I walked into the kitchen. Alice quickly followed.

"Sweetie what happened?" She pulled me into her arms.

"He thinks I told them he was here. And I didn't. I don't know who did, but it wasn't me."

"Well did you tell him that?"

"Yeah he didn't believe me." I shook the tears away. Not now, I told myself. Wait until he leaves to fall apart.

I peeked around the corner when I heard footsteps on the stairs. He approached the front desk and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"Hello Charlie. I'm just checking out."

"Checking out? I thought you were here for another week?"

"I know. I've already paid in full, so you won't lose any money. I just…something came up." He glanced my way. I was hoping he had seen the light. That he realized he loved me and I loved him and wouldn't do the terrible things he thought I did. He stared right back at me, all love and happiness gone from earlier today. It its place was the cold lost stare he had when he had first got here.

He signed some papers and turned to leave. "Thanks for the stay…" he said softly. Emmett opened the door for him as he entered the mass hysteria outside. I could hear a group of teenage girls screaming too. Damn stalkers.

Charlie watched him as he went, scratching his head. "You know…" he started once the front door closed. "That Bobby kid looks real familiar and I just…can't put my finger on it?"

"Charlie," Alice said. "You just wait until tomorrow about….8 a.m. when the paper gets delivered. I'm sure it'll come to ya." She slapped his back.

I almost missed their exchange because my whole world starting blurring around me. I grasped the counter for support, but my knees wouldn't hold and I collapsed to the floor. He was gone.

Charlie and Alice rushed to my side as I started hyperventilating.

"Charlie can you go get her some water…" Alice nodded towards the kitchen. Charlie looked conflicted, but finally did as she said.

"Here you go sweetie." He handed me the glass of water.

"I'll take care of her." Alice helped me up and we started back to our room. I knew Charlie was worried about me, but in all honesty he had no idea how to deal with things like this and I think he was almost relieved when Alice volunteered.

I curled up on my bed and refused to talk to her.

"Bella…it's okay." She started rubbing up and down my back. "He'll come back when he realizes he was wrong."

Alice laid back in bed with me and tuned on the television. She started flipping through the channels as she waited for me to talk.

"So where has the illustrious Mr. Cullen been hiding all this time? We have the scoop and a live feed coming up…" A woman with an annoying voice announced over the speakers.

Alice gasped and turned the channel.

I sat up and grabbed the remote from her. "I want to watch it." I flipped it back. It showed a live picture of the local airport, where a private plane was waiting. A small box in the corner showed a live view of the outside of the Inn.

"Okay folks," the woman's voice continued. "Edward's plane is scheduled to take off any minute now, heading straight for New York. We've learned that he's been staying at the Harbor Lights Inn in a small Northern Michigan town. Why he chose this top tourist vacation spot we don't know, but we do know this. He was involved in a scandalous affair with the owner's daughter. Talk about good advertising for their little hotel." She smiled with an over exaggerated wink.

"Stupid bitch…" I muttered under my breath.

Alice's phone distracted me for a moment, but then my eyes were glued to the TV waiting for that stupid bastard to get on his very own plane and fly his stubborn ass wherever the hell he damn well pleased.

"Jasper…" Alice answered her phone softly, stepping away from the bed.

Just then the doors of the airport swung open and there he was, surrounded by Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper, who was talking on his cell phone.

"Oh I see you!" Alice smiled a little bit, but tried to contain her excitement for my benefit. I felt bad. Just because I was miserable didn't mean she had to be. She glanced over at me as he spoke to her. "So you don't think he'll…?" She nodded her head. "Okay…Yeah…Not good…I'll call you later." She hung up the phone at the same time Jasper did.

"He's not going to realize he's wrong is he?"

"I'm sorry sweetie. Jasper said he wouldn't talk to anyone." She plopped down next to me and took my hand as we watched them all board the plane. The airport attendants sealed the door and the plane started down the runway. I held my breath as it began to zoom down the runway and all of my hopes flew away as soon as the plane lifted off the ground.

I shut the television off and sauntered out of the room.

"I'm going for a walk," I said softly as I started down the hallway.

Charlie's face was white as a ghost as he stood at the front desk, a television remote in his hand.

"What the hell were you thinking Bella?" He yelled.

"I guess I wasn't…" I passed right by him and walked out the front door.

There were a few paparazzi still standing outside the Inn when I walked outside. They took a few pictures and started following me to the beach.

"Can't you just leave me the hell alone! He's gone okay?" I turned around and screamed. They laughed and continued following me. I bet they loved my little outburst. I could just see it on the front page of Star Magazine by the end of the day tomorrow. _Edward Cullen's Almost Girlfriend Has Mental Breakdown After his Abrupt Departure_.

I couldn't imagine living with this all the time like Edward does. For a moment, an incredibly small moment, I felt bad for him again. They've only been around me for a day and I already want to kick their ass. That sympathy quickly subsided.

They kept following me for a while, but as soon as I hit the sand I used my special sand running skills to outrun them over the dune. I looked back just a few of them fell flat on their faces. I could even feel a slight smile spread across my face. I was grateful when I was finally alone. Just me and my thoughts. No television, no annoying bitch reporter, no paps, no Alice, no Charlie…no Edward.

I started out on the pier, walking the skinny cement slab that led to the lighthouse. It was strange to think how different it was this morning when Edward and I had been here. I pulled my sweater close to me as I continued my journey closer to the lighthouse. The waves were still crashing over the barrier, creating bursts of white against the blue sky. When I reached the lighthouse I walked around to the same spot from this morning. My fingers ran over the words he had carved into the metal. _Edward loves Bella_.

I grabbed my necklace from my neck and started scraping the words off with it. They disappeared quickly, along with the few that surrounded it. I guess you could say I got a little carried away.

I stayed out there the rest of the day, watching the tourists and the fisherman make their way out and around the lighthouse. I wiped away a single tear as the sun finally dipped below the water. I'd gotten through today. Tomorrow would be better.

"Bells?" Charlie called. I wiped my eyes frantically again and turned. Charlie stuck his cautiously around the corner. "What are you still doing out here baby?" He sat down next to me.

"Just thinking about some things."

He wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier." He looked out over the water. "I just…I didn't know. I wish you would have told me."

"I know Dad I'm sorry." I stood up and grasped the necklace in my hands before chucking it out into the water. "But it's done now." I tried to smile. "Let's go home." He stood up and took me into his arms as we walked back down the pier and back to solid ground.


	11. Money Shot

"Bella it's been almost a week. We need to clean his room." Her eyes drifted towards the stairs that led to the third floor.

"No Alice. Touch it and I will hurt you."

She should have learned to stop asking about it after yesterday. She tried to clean it for the fourth time since he's left and I nearly tackled her to the floor before she made it to the second step.

She shook her head, her eyes glancing to the stairs once again, before starting downstairs.

It's been six days since he walked out the door. It took me three days to stop crying. Another two to start feeling angry. And today I just really don't give a shit.

Six days. I counted it again in my head and on my fingers.

"Alice what day is it today?" I yelled down the stairs.

"It's Saturday."

I sighed and started down after her. Today is the awards show. I should be in New York. I should be with Edward right at this moment. And even though I was at the angry stage in my twelve-step "Get Over Edward" plan, I still felt a little sad that I wasn't.

As I descended the stairs I could hear Alice and Charlie muttering quickly to each other. She was hovering over the desk, peeking around at something on the television screen.

"What are you looking at?"

Alice suddenly straightened up. Charlie cleared his throat and flicked off the television.

"What is it?" I asked again, approaching the desk. They both looked away. I grabbed the remote from Charlie's hand and switched it back on. Edward's beautiful face filled the screen.

"What is this?" I whispered.

"He's getting interviewed by Good Morning America Bells," Charlie said. "We don't have to watch it…" He started reaching for the remote.

"No!" I pulled it close to my chest. "I think I want to." I pulled myself onto the counter and watched as his picture dissolved to a live feed of him and the host of the show. He was sitting back in the chair, his ankle resting on his knee and his hand brought up to his mouth. I could tell he was annoyed, but trying to put on a good face for the interview. I leaned forward onto my elbows as the host started speaking.

"Okay everyone, hold onto your daughters. We've got the one and only Edward Cullen right here on our stage with us. He'll be appearing tonight at the Jazzy Awards." She smiled and turned to Edward. "So Edward. Are you excited for the awards tonight?"

He cleared his throat and sat up a little bit. "Uh. Yeah. Should be a good night." He laughed a nervous laugh.

"Now you're up for hottest bachelor…added at the last minute about a month ago when you split from Tanya Denali. But you were spending your time with someone else for the past few weeks? Is that correct?" She laughed a little. "I mean its been all over the news about you and this girl Bella. So what's the real story? Is Hollywood's hottest bachelor finally off the market?"

His face turned serious for a moment as he composed himself. "No I…uh. I was. But sometimes I guess people….turn out to…." He looked down and shook his head. "She just wasn't who I thought she was I guess."

I felt Alice and Charlie's eyes glance my way.

"Well this is just bullshit." Charlie grabbed the remote from my hand and went to turn it off. "I'm not going to sit here and watch this fool talk crap about my little girl."

"Scandalous. Does this have anything to do with the subjects of our exclusive interview last night?"

"Wait Dad stop!" I held out my hand, preventing him from turning it off. What the hell was this lady talking about?

Edward took a sip of his coffee and his brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm sorry what interview was this?"

The host turned and spoke directly to the audience. "Well you're in luck folks, if you missed our interview last night, here's a clip." The screen faded to black and then lit up again with their faces. My blood started to boil.

"So what made you want to "out" Edward, in a way?" The interviewer asked.

"Well we just felt like it wasn't fair that he was trying to be someone he wasn't." James said, a fake look of concern on his face.

"The people of our small town deserved to know who he really was. And so did the rest of the world." Victoria said, smiling.

"And the girl he's supposedly having an affair with?" The interviewer looked down at her notes. "This Bella Swan? What about her, do you know her?"

"Oh we're practically best friends…" Victoria boasted. Stupid lying bitch. The screen froze on their faces before fading back to Edward's.

His eyes were wide as he stared at the screen. I crossed my arms and looked right into his eyes, praying that he would feel my stare through the screen.

"Edward how do you feel about these people revealing your location to the media?"

His shoulders heaved up and down as he gripped the sides of his chair. And then he suddenly got up and just…walked off stage. The host looked panicked for a second as to what she should do next.

"Go to commercial! Commercial!" Someone off stage yelled.

The host looked back at the camera. "We'll be right back after a break," she smiled.

I flipped the TV off and started down the hallway to my room. "Asshole…" I muttered as I slammed my door shut. You'd think I'd feel better now that he knew the truth, but I didn't. It almost made it worse because now he knows that he was wrong and there's no reason that we can't be together. But we won't be. Because he's too much of a coward to admit it. Maybe it would have just been easier if I had betrayed him.

"Bells?" Alice knocked and peeked her head in. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just want to sleep for awhile okay?"

"Okay." She closed the door softly. I hugged my pillow tight to me. I didn't even realize I had started crying until I felt the dampness on my pillow. I wiped them away and closed my eyes, willing sleep to come and take me away for a while.

I woke suddenly and flew up in bed. My body was damp with sweat. I glanced at the clock. It was noon; I'd been asleep for nearly four hours. I got out of bed and stared at the heap of Kleenex pouring over the sides of my trashcan. This had to stop.

I grabbed the trash bag and collected the remnants of the week from around my room. A bag of chips, some bottles of water, a few stray popcorn kernels on the floor. I carried the bag out into the lobby and glanced at the stairs. I sighed deeply and headed up them, passing the second floor and making my way to the third floor. I knew if I didn't clean it today Charlie or Alice would have to do it. We have someone coming to stay in it tomorrow.

I stood for a moment outside his door before pushing it open. His room was exactly how he'd left it. The bed was unmade and there was still a bag of M&M's sitting open on the dresser.

I set down the bag of trash and started taking care of the bed. I stripped the sheets off the bed and threw them into a pile near the door. I stepped outside the room and grabbed some clean sheets out of the linen closet.

As I bent down to tuck in the new sheets on the bed, something caught my eye. I bent down a little further and reached under the bed. I pulled out one of his blue hoodies. He must have forgotten it. I brought it to my face and inhaled his smell. It was gone from the bed and the sheets, but it was still here, in his shirt. As crazy as it sounds that's one of the things I missed most about him. He always smelled like peppermint and forest. Almost like after a rainstorm. I draped his shirt over the chair and continued fixing the bed up. As I rounded the corner of the bed I looked out the window and stopped dead in my tracks. Was that a limo out front?

I shook my head and took the few steps to the window, closing my eyes to erase the image out of my head. I must be progressing to full on hallucinations. But when I opened my eyes again it was still there. I searched the dunes behind it for any sign of him, even though I knew he wouldn't be there. There could be plenty of reasons why a limo would be parked outside. They did weddings down at the beach pretty much every weekend. That'd be a more plausible explanation than a movie star coming to town.

I gasped a little as a mop of shiny bronze hair appeared over one of the dunes. Edward finally came into full view. He glanced back at the water he'd just come from and stuck his hands in his pockets. And then he looked right up at me and I knew he could see me through the window.

I grabbed his hoodie and started down the stairs. I was trying to decide if I wanted to yell at him or kiss him. As I opened the door, I was once again greeted by the flash of the cameras. There weren't as many as there were last time, but I still wanted to kick them in the baby makers. I tried to ignore them as I made my way across the street.

Edward smiled at me as I approached him. I made sure to make my stare that much worse than I was planning. How dare he come here and smile at me after all he's done.

"Did you come back to get your hoodie? I found it under your bed." I threw it at him.

"No…" He said softly.

"Well what the hell did you come back here for?!" I yelled. The paps snapped away.

He looked around at the people starting to gather around us and starting fidgeting with the hoodie in his hands.

"Answer me!" I stomped my foot into the sand.

"I came back for you okay!" He looked down at the ground.

"Excuse me?"

He looked up at me, his eyes glistening a little. "I came back for you," he whispered.

"Why? You obviously don't love me so why?" My tears from earlier had returned.

His expression changed drastically as he took a step towards me.

"How could I not love you?" He reached his hand out and caressed my cheek.

"You made it pretty clear when you left that you didn't want to be with me. Something to do with trust right? I guess your reason is shot to hell now!"

"You saw the interview?"

"I saw the interview."

"Bella please. I was wrong." He seemed sincere enough, but that didn't make it better. Does he just think he can come back and be all hot and sexy and admit he was wrong? Every girl's dream right?

"Well you're wrong about a lot of things if you think this makes everything okay." I started to walk away but he grabbed my arm and spun me back around.

"Take a walk with me."

"What?"

"Take a walk with me. And then I'll let you go, I promise." He stared at me with his intense green eyes and I knew I wouldn't say no. He knew it too because he started pulling me towards the water. I started to pull away, but he kept my hand firmly encased in his as he dragged us onto the pier.

"Are you going to say anything?" I said, once we'd walked about halfway out to the lighthouse.

"Yeah." He sighed and shook his head. "I understand that I messed up. Big time. But I also need you to understand what I've been through. It's very difficult for me to trust people."

"And you ran away at the first sign of trouble without even considering that you could be wrong," I scolded.

"You're right. And I'm sorry." He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed the top of it.

"You need to understand something too. You. Need. To. Trust. Me. Let me in, all the way. Not half assed. Things don't work that way." I stopped and turned towards him. "People aren't always out to get you Edward."

I glanced up as the news helicopter floated above us. "Well except maybe them." I nodded up.

He laughed a little and started walking again.

"Bella I love you. And I understand if you don't love me or want me anymore, but I needed you to know that." We rounded the corner of the lighthouse and he looked up.

"Edward loves Bella" was spray painted in big black letters across the side of the lighthouse.

"Did you do this?" I said slowly.

"Yeah. Well. I had a little help, but for the most part yes."

"You do realize this is vandalism right?"

"Yeah but I don't think the owner will press charges."

"Why not?"

"Because I bought it."

My mouth dropped open. "You bought this?" I pointed to the lighthouse. It must have cost millions.

"Yeah the city was a little reluctant at first but I smooth talked them into it. And I added a few dollars to the deal." He smiled a little bit.

"So what you swoop in and decide to go all lighthouse keeper on me? Come and visit Edward Cullen's Shittastic Spray Paint Covered Lighthouse?"

"Yeah," he laughed.

"Listen I know that this is asking a lot, for you to forgive me. But I am asking Bella. I love you and I want to be with you. And it's not going to be easy." He gestured up towards the helicopter that was circling us. I could practically hear the news anchor doing the report from above. "I know that my lifestyle is a lot to handle so it's okay if you don't…" He shook his head. "We'd never have a moment of privacy. We'd never be able to go to the grocery store, or to the park, or out to lunch without them following us. But I would never ask you to do anything you don't want to do. I just…Someone once told me that it's worth it if it's something that you love." He looked up at me and smiled. I did tell him that. And despite everything he did I do love him. More than anything. And I would do anything for him.

"I have to go...back to New York to go to the awards show. Jasper probably had a bitch fit when he realized that I left, but I had to see you." He reached out for me and pulled me close. "I still need a date…for the show…."

I pulled away and smiled a little. "I can't."

His face fell as he nodded his head. "Oh. It's okay. Do you have plans or something?"

"No actually I just don't have anything to wear." A silly grin spread across my face as I tugged at my sweatpants.

He laughed and ran his fingers through his hair before crashing his lips into mine. I smiled against his lips as he pushed us back up against the side of the lighthouse.

"I think we can take care of that problem…" he whispered into my ear.

"Okay then yes I'll go with you," I said, hugging him tighter.

He kissed my neck and swung us around as the reporter in the helicopter dipped lower. That was a money shot if I'd ever seen one.

**A/N: Holy crap I can't believe the next chapter is the last one : ( Review, review, review. Are you guys ready for the awards show?! : )**


	12. Hottest Bachelor?

**A/N: A couple things,**

**1. Some people were concerned that she had forgiven him too quickly, and I honestly agree. But if you remember at the beginning of the story I warned that it was shorter than I'd wanted it because I had written it for a birthday gift and was limited on time. So unfortunately the spray paint on the lighthouse had to be the kicker because I was running out of time. I promise when I do the sequel it will be A LOT longer than 11 chapters.**

**2. This is the last chapter.....sad. But it's a really good one. Thank you all so much for reading, I really appreciate it. Check out my other stories if you haven't yet, they're definitely worth a read.**

**3. If you didn't catch it earlier I mentioned that I would be doing a sequel. No word on when that will happen because I'm on busy overload right now with other fanfiction and real life. But I will probably avoid doing the whole "post every ____) just because I feel like I lost a lot of reviews doing it that way, and I'm selfish, I like to know how I'm doing. When I have any news regarding the sequel I will post it to the end of this one. **

**Thanks again!**

I leaned back into the seat of the airplane and breathed deep. It smelled like leather and vodka and....Edward. I smiled as he grabbed my hand and turned my face towards him. He looked absolutely panicked.

"Hey are you okay?" I leaned over to him and ran my hands across his cheeks.

"Yeah..." He stuttered. "I just...I can't...I hate flying." His other hand was gripped tightly to the seat.

"How can you fly all over the country and still be this nervous about it..." I said.

"I don't know, but it's terrifying. There's other planes, and weather, and...birds up here. Or we could just have a bum plane that just randomly falls out of the sky. It happens all the time."

"Not when you have the mechanics check and double check their work Ed..." Emmett brought him a glass of water and a couple of pills. "It helps him relax," he whispered to me.

I tightened my hand around Edward's as he took a sip from the glass and laid his head back in the seat. His breathing was slow and steady, but strained. Like he was trying really hard to relax.

"Emmett could you give us some privacy?"

"He's already a member of the mile high club Bells."

"Get out Emmett!" Edward yelled.

Emmett smirked and laughed as he walked out of the area, closing the door behind him. We were alone now, just me and him and about ten empty seats. I unbuckled my seatbelt and crawled over onto his lap. He closed his eyes as he snaked his arms around my waist.

I bent down close to his ear and rested my chin on his shoulder. "Relax," I whispered. I pulled back and looked at his face, his brow furrowed with anxiety.

He slowly opened his eyes and smiled a little when he saw my face. I instantly felt him relax a little as he began rubbing his hands up and down my back.

"That's better." I bent down to kiss him just as we hit some turbulence. His grip around my waist tightened as his wide eyes took in the rest of the cabin.

"Edward," I said placing my hands on his shoulders, trying to relax him.

"We're going to crash..." His head darted back and forth from the front of the cabin to the window. I couldn't believe he was coming completely undone like this. I've never seen him this way.

"Edward look at me. Just me." I took his face in my hands and forced his eyes to mine. My fingers drifted up to the buttons on my shirt and undid them one by one, keeping my eyes on his the whole time. I took his hand in mine and traced down the middle of my chest, just under the fabric. He reached the top of my jeans and he bit his lip. His breathing was completely calm. He started to dip his fingers below the waistline of my underwear but I stopped him.

"This is about you, not me." I reached to the side of him and pulled the lever to recline him back a little.

I smiled and descended from his lap to the floor, bringing the zipper of his jeans down with me.

"Bella what are you doing?" His eyes were wide again, but not with the same panic as before.

"Just sit back and relax."

We landed a couple of hours later and Edward no longer had any fear of flying. He took my hand as we left the plane with a big smile on his face.

"Have a nice flight?" Jasper asked.

"The best I've ever had..." Edward smirked. Emmett coughed a laugh into his hands.

"Good." Jasper started walking along with his reading off our schedule from his PDA. "Bella you have a stylist appointment in a half hour to pick out something to wear tonight. Edward you have an interview in an hour. And please no disappearing in the middle of this one. Bella will be back at the hotel by 6 p.m.. The limo will pick you both up at the hotel at 7:38 to be at the red carpet by 8:05. You'll walk the red carpet and be inside by 8:27 and the awards start at 8:30. Bella, Rosalie will be accompanying you for to the stylist appointment as well as help you get ready for the event. Jasper and I will be with Edward. Is everything clear?"

My mouth gaped open. I've never heard anything so precisely planned before in my life. "Um. Yes."

"Good. Rose will also have a print out of the schedule as well as emergency phone numbers and the address for the hotel."

We walked into the airport to a mass of photographers and screaming fans. Most of them stared at me like they wanted to throw the Ebola virus on me. I'm definitely not immune to all of the attention yet, but I am becoming more numb to it. We push past the crowd and out the front door. Two limos are parked at the curb, I assume one's for Edward and one's for me.

"Bella, Rose is waiting in the front limo for you." He gestured to the car.

I turned towards Edward. "So I guess I'll see you later?"

He smiled and wrapped me up in his arms, nestling his face into the crook of my neck. "I'll miss you." He pulled back and planted a soft kiss on my lips. A collective "aww" came from the small crowd that followed us outside. He smirked in their direction, waved, and disappeared into his limo. Rose swung open the door to mine.

"Get in you crazy bitch..." She smiled.

I laughed and hopped in.

"So can I just tell you how jealous I am right now?" She said.

"Why the hell are you jealous of me?" I laughed.

"Because Edward walked out in the middle of an interview on a prominent television show to go and apologize to you. It usually takes a night of Emmett sleeping in the tub or the hallway to get an apology out of him."

I turned and looked out the window. "Yeah I guess I'm pretty lucky..."

We drove for a while through the traffic of New York before pulling up to a trendy looking shop. The paparazzi didn't follow me, they probably decided more people wanted to see Edward. But I still felt the stares of some of the people walking by. I barely noticed the pointing and the comments that came from them as Rose and I walked into the store.

"That's her?" One girl commented.

"Wow I thought she'd be prettier than that…" The other one pointed towards me.

I ignored them and pushed the door open.

An extremely eccentric man wearing a short skirt and high heels greeted me. He oddly reminded me of Miss J from America's Next Top Model. As soon as he opened his mouth I knew it was no fake, this was the real deal. I was being dressed by Miss J from America's Next Top Model.

"Bella, I'm Miss J. You need something for the awards tonight?" He extended his hand to me.

"Yeah J, listen she needs something edgy but not overboard. Sexy but still comfortable." Rose stepped right in front of me and started going through the racks to the side.

"Oh Miss Rosalie I know exactly what you need." He rummaged through the rack and pulled out a dress. "Just got this in from Stella." He handed the dress to Rose and she looked it over. "It's perfect, how much?"

"I'll give it to you for an even five." She handed him a credit card and he went to ring it up.

"Rosalie how much was that dress?"

"Five."

"Five what?"

"Thousand."

"Rose are you insane! That's almost enough to pay for a whole semester of school!" I was suddenly beat red, embarrassed that they were spending this much money on me.

"Bella, you're in our world now. Five thousand dollars is penny change. You'll get used to it. And plus the dress is going to look amazing on you." Miss J came back with the receipt and the dress in a garment bag.

"There you go ladies, have a great day. Enjoy yourself tonight Bella!" He called as we walked out of the store.

As soon as we got back to the hotel Rose insisted on starting my hair. I told her I didn't want anything too done up, it just wasn't me. She told me I could keep it down as long as I let her wash and "prep" it, whatever the hell that means.

I turned on the television and started munching idly on some pretzels after she had washed my hair with shampoo that cost enough to feed a small country. She pulled and tugged and moussed and gelled me as much as I could handle.

"What channel is he on?" I asked.

"I think twenty." She started braiding the front of my hair into a light French braid that framed my face.

I flipped through the channels until I heard his voice.

"Yes I'm very much looking forward to the awards tonight. It should be a great time…" He smiled and the screen faded to Ryan Seacrest.

"Well folks you heard it here, Edward Cullen will be bringing a date to the awards tonight. Will it be his ever-present agent, his sometimes flame Tanya Denali, or maybe his suspected new ladylove Bella Swan? You'll have to tune in to find out." It cut to commercial and I turned it off.

My phone started ringing and I stretched my arm out, trying to reach it on the nightstand as Rose was working on my hair.

"Hey babe, I just saw you."

"Oh great." Edward laughed. "Hey I'm running a little late, so I'm just going to swing by really quick and pick you up on the way to the red carpet okay?"

"Okay I'll be ready."

"Okay. Bye love."

"Bye."

I closed my eyes and started thinking about Edward as Rose finished up my makeup. I tapped my leg a little impatiently. It was almost time to go and I didn't want to be late.

"Alright Cinderella you're done. Let's get you into your dress."

I opened my eyes just as she spun around and grabbed the dress. I could barely recognize the person in the mirror. I mean it was me, I knew it was me and you could still see part of me in the reflection. But I looked beautiful, and feminine and just…perfect. Rosalie is amazing at this. I leaned forward and ran my fingers over the shadow on my eyes.

"Don't touch it," Rose said as she took my dress off the hanger. I pulled my hand back and smirked in her direction. She unzipped the dress and held it down so I could step in.

I felt her cool hands slip up the sides of my body as she pulled the dress up and onto my shoulders. I smoothed it out once she zipped it back up and stepped quickly into my shoes.

"Here is your purse, your limo is waiting, and my work is done." She plopped down into the chair and sighed.

"Thanks Rose. I'll see you later." I ran quickly down the hallway, waited very impatiently for the elevator, and made my way through the crowd in the lobby of the hotel. Emmett was standing by the front door waiting for me.

"Bella!" He waved me over. At the mention of my name a group of young girls turned our way and started sprinting towards Emmett and me.

"Edward!" One of the girls screamed. It was so loud and shrill I swear it pierced my eardrums. Their arms were outstretched as they stumbled over each other to try and get to the limo first. Emmett grabbed me by the waist and ushered me into the limo, closing the door quickly behind me. I breathed deeply and kept my eyes out the window as the girls came nearer. I shuttered back as they threw themselves onto the limo, crashing with a thud onto my window.

Someone cleared their throat from the other end of the seat.

"Is it like this all the time?" I pointed outside.

"No." Edward said. "They must be going crazy about the beautiful woman who just stepped into my limo."

I smiled and scooted over to him. He took my hand in his and bent down to kiss my cheek. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you. Rose did it." I looked down at my dress.

"Well it probably wasn't hard with the canvas she was working with." He winked as the car pulled away from the curb. The group of girls literally started running down the street after us in some misconceived notion that they would in fact run as fast a speeding car.

I started getting more and more nervous as we got closer to the drop off point. Edward calmed me down a little by rubbing small circles on the top of my hand. I tried to slow my breathing, but it started to come out short and staccato.

"Hey are you okay?" He put his arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah. I just. I've just never done anything like this before. I'm really nervous." My hands were shaking a little.

"Look at me. Just me." He smirked as he moved from the seat to the floor of the limo. He looked up at me as he started pushing my dress up my legs, running his fingers on my inner thighs.

"Edward what are you doing?"

"Relax." He kissed my knee and started to make his way up my leg. I could hear Emmett laughing in the front seat the entire time, even with the privacy screen up.

The limo came to a stop and someone tapped on the screen. "We're here guys. Make sure all clothing is readjusted to avoid anyone seeing your Britney hoo ha Bella."

"Shut up Emmett!" I pulled my skirt down as Edward climbed off the floor. He licked his lips and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue dragged lightly along my lower lip as I ran my fingers through his hair. If he was trying to relax me, this was definitely not the way.

I pulled away suddenly as the door opened, turning my face away in embarrassment.

"Mr. Cullen." The chauffeur nodded towards Edward as he got out of the limo. Edward reached inside the limo and took my hand, pulling me out.

Everything was a damn circus. There was a long red carpet, leading up to the hall where the event was being held. There was a long row of photographers at the beginning and a line of reporters and TV cameras after that. Above the carpet, in bleachers along each side, were rows and rows of screaming fans. I had momentary fan-girl moments as I took in all the celebrities around me. Johnny Depp was to my right, Jennifer Aniston to my left. I almost fainted when Johnny smiled at me and nodded.

I felt Edward's hand pull me towards the photographers. I let him go ahead of me, assuming that they wanted a picture of him, not the weird normal girl he was with. I stood and watched him as he worked the camera. He sure knew what he was doing. Every smirk, every raise of his eyebrow was perfect.

"Bella!" One of the photographers yelled. "Bella! Get in there with him!"

Pretty soon all of them were yelling for me. It was surreal. I walked slowly up to Edward and he placed his arm around my waist, smiling big for the pictures. I tried to smile but I probably just looked like a star struck idiot.

I gripped Edward's hand tightly as we started towards the reporters. This was what I was dreading most. I had a hard enough time putting words together on an everyday basis, now they had a camera and someone asking me questions. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Just be yourself," Edward whispered as we approached the first one.

"And here is Edward Cullen and his beautiful date…" The man gestured towards us. "Hello Edward, how are you feeling tonight?"

"I'm feeling great! Really excited to be here!" Edward said, flashing a smile towards the camera.

"And Bella how are you doing?"

I was stunned the man was addressing me directly. I looked right into the camera and suddenly had nothing to say. Edward nudged me a little and suddenly the words just started flowing.

"It's amazing to be here, especially with Edward. It's going to be a fun night."

"Great, and who are you wearing?"

I blanked. I knew it was an S. Sara, Sam…Stella? Was it Stella? Stella who?

Edward leaned in and whispered softly to me. "Stella McCartney."

"Stella McCartney," I answered confidently.

"Well you both look fabulous. No doubt front-runners for best dressed. Good luck and have a good time." The reporter turned back to the camera and started chatting away. Edward pulled me along.

"See that wasn't so bad was it?"

"Wasn't so bad? It was terrible."

"You did well. And it'll be easier now. You just had to get your first one out of the way."

"How the hell did you know who made my dress?"

"Rose texted me after she bought it because she knew you wouldn't remember."

I laughed as we were toted along through all the other reporters. Edward was right. It got easier as we went along. Only a few spoke directly to me and I answered with a polite "So excited to be here' or "Looking forward to the awards."

We were at the last reporter before the door and I was anxious to get inside and sit down. These heels were killing me. I was just about to turn and go inside when someone bumped into me, almost sending me crashing to the floor. Edward grabbed me and kept me from faceplanting in front of everyone.

"Thank you…" I said as I turned around to see who I needed to punch in the face. Well depending on who it is and if I liked them.

My smile faded as I saw the pretty face behind me.

"Oh I'm so sorry sweetheart. Are you alright?" Tanya said.

"Yes I'm fine. Thank you." I brushed my dress off and turned towards Edward. This was the definition of awkward.

"Edward." Tanya ran her fingers down his arm. "How have you been?"

"Very well and you?" He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else right now, but he was still trying to be polite and I admired him for that.

"Great." She smiled and turned towards me. "Bella is it?"

"Yes."

"It's nice to meet you. Have fun you two." She turned and went inside. Edward and I followed, taking our seats in the front.

The ceremony went by pretty fast, a lot faster than it feels like when you're just watching it on television.

Edward's award was the last one of the night and I held his hand as they announced all the nominees. I could honestly say that he didn't care if he won or not. He was the most humble person I've ever met, and that's including us regulars too. I think I wanted it that much more for him just because of that.

"And the winner of the hottest bachelor is….no surprise here it's Edward Cullen."

Edward sighed and placed a quick kiss on my cheek before making his way up stage to collect his awards. He ran his fingers through his hair nervously as he approached the microphone.

"Hello." He cleared his throat. "I really appreciate this." He held up the award. "It's really great and all, but I honestly think I have to give it back." The audience fell silent. "Because I feel like a fraud accepting it." He looked down at the shiny metal and shook his head. "Hottest Bachelor." He blinked several times, collecting his thoughts. "I'm not a bachelor anymore so…" He handed the award back to the presenter. "But I still would like to thank my Bella. She is the most patient, kind, understanding person I've ever met." He looked right at me. "My life is better…I'm better…just because I have you. Thank you for being so amazing." He nodded and started backstage. I wiped the tears away and joined the crowd in their applause.

The lights came up and everyone started to get up to leave. I just sat in my seat, waiting for Edward. He was probably doing all those backstage interviews they do, especially after that stunt he just pulled. I finally spotted him, walking towards me with a silly grin on his face and his hands in his pockets.

"I've got to say. I think that was the best non-acceptance speech I've ever heard."

"Yeah." He tilted his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well thanks."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm just going to run to the bathroom, then we can go." All I'd been doing was drinking glasses of water the whole night, my bladder was about to explode. I smiled and started towards the bathroom. As I was washing my hands I heard the door creak open. I looked up in the mirror and saw Tanya walk in. She eyed me as she sauntered over to the sink.

"Well wasn't that just precious?" She snickered. "Enjoy it while it lasts honey." She turned to walk away.

"Excuse me?" I spun around towards her and put my hands on my hips.

"You heard me bitch. You don't belong here. As soon as he gets bored with you I'll be waiting. People like me and him are supposed to be together. You aren't even close to being good enough." She started to walk out the door but I grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her back. We both fell to the floor and started wrestling around. My leg took out the garbage can and it came crashing down on top of us.

The small group in the bathroom stared in shock as we rolled around on the floor. I felt the punch to my lip and the elbow to my eye before someone pulled her off me. I could safely say that she looked worse than me because there was blood gushing out of her nose. It was definitely broken.

She glared at me as they pulled her out the door. I breathed deeply and turned around to the mirror to start assessing my injuries.

"I'll go get Edward for you honey…" I felt a pat on my shoulder and gasped when I looked up.

"Thank you…Jennifer Aniston." I couldn't help but smile. I leaned forward and started poking and prodding at my face. The bitch got some good hits, I'd give her that. But her whole face was going to swell up like a balloon.

Edward came rushing in the bathroom.

"Did you just kick Tanya's ass?"

I winced back because he sounded angry. "Yes…"

"Why?"

"She said I didn't belong here Edward. With you."

He sighed and walked over to me, picking me up and placing me on the edge of the counter. He grabbed a paper towel and wet it before running it over the cut on my lip.

"I'm sorry Bella."

""It's okay." I looked down at the floor.

"No it's not. She's wrong. As far as I'm concerned you're right where you belong."

"Yeah as far as you're concerned. Everyone else thinks I'm a joke."

He pulled back and threw the bloodied towel into the trash. "Screw them Bella. You are not a joke." He took my face in his hands. "Come on let's go…" He pulled me off the counter and we started towards the front lobby. I could already see and hear the paparazzi outside.

"Beat up the model in the bathroom…" One said.

"Totally unprovoked according to Tanya." Another said. "Make sure to get a good shot of them when they come out."

Edward grabbed my hand. "You ready?"

"Yeah."

The doors opened to the blinding flashbulbs. And with one hand in Edward's and the other flipping the paps the bird, we stepped out together ready to take on anything and everything the world was going to throw at us.


End file.
